Best Cities for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food cooking machine operators and tenderss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	IowaState	1.29	$47,900	$53,700	24%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.27	$48,230	$52,884	30%
3	MichiganState	1.23	$47,260	$51,203	28%
4	KansasState	1.22	$45,850	$50,944	27%
5	TennesseeState	1.20	$45,620	$49,858	33%
6	LouisianaState	1.19	$44,440	$49,323	28%
7	NebraskaState	1.19	$45,420	$49,639	28%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.18	$56,190	$49,160	47%
9	UtahState	1.17	$48,620	$48,523	37%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$48,290	$48,533	37%
11	MinnesotaState	1.16	$47,250	$48,214	33%
12	IndianaState	1.15	$43,350	$47,901	29%
13	WashingtonState	1.15	$51,100	$47,623	45%
14	KentuckyState	1.14	$41,800	$47,232	28%
15	MissouriState	1.14	$42,160	$47,585	29%
16	ArkansasState	1.13	$40,480	$46,906	26%
17	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.13	$45,340	$47,131	41%
18	IdahoState	1.12	$45,120	$46,756	32%
19	OhioState	1.09	$41,160	$45,531	30%
20	ColoradoState	1.07	$46,900	$44,497	47%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$42,710	$44,582	42%
22	MassachusettsState	1.06	$47,960	$44,203	56%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$42,710	$44,031	36%
24	ArizonaState	1.05	$44,050	$43,657	41%
25	IllinoisState	1.05	$42,670	$43,809	37%
26	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$40,650	$43,476	38%
27	OregonState	1.04	$44,530	$43,233	43%
28	South DakotaState	1.04	$39,270	$43,249	29%
29	WisconsinState	1.04	$40,000	$43,337	33%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$39,880	$43,114	35%
31	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$45,260	$41,985	48%
32	North CarolinaState	1.00	$39,070	$41,388	40%
33	South CarolinaState	1.00	$38,220	$41,543	39%
34	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$40,170	$41,498	48%
35	GeorgiaState	0.99	$38,440	$41,156	44%
36	New YorkState	0.98	$45,680	$40,604	49%
37	OklahomaState	0.98	$36,030	$40,712	32%
38	CaliforniaState	0.97	$44,740	$40,416	61%
39	New HampshireState	0.92	$40,440	$38,151	47%
40	MaineState	0.90	$37,500	$37,575	41%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.90	$38,890	$37,575	49%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$34,200	$36,853	45%
43	MississippiState	0.88	$31,150	$36,733	34%
44	NevadaState	0.88	$36,610	$36,537	48%
45	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$35,890	$36,437	58%
46	ConnecticutState	0.87	$38,880	$36,134	48%
47	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$41,030	$36,150	75%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.87	$35,240	$36,255	54%
49	FloridaState	0.86	$36,450	$35,911	57%
50	TexasState	0.85	$33,980	$35,544	49%
51	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$41,070	$35,253	66%
52	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.85	$39,790	$35,275	60%
53	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$36,740	$34,726	55%
54	New JerseyState	0.82	$37,180	$34,173	58%
55	VirginiaState	0.82	$35,140	$33,952	54%
56	MarylandState	0.81	$36,960	$33,846	55%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$36,190	$33,355	68%
58	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.79	$30,340	$32,978	52%
59	AlabamaState	0.75	$27,080	$31,091	42%
60	DelawareState	0.74	$31,240	$30,931	52%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).