Best Cities for Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastics

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics 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	OklahomaState	1.42	$61,720	$69,740	19%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.39	$61,980	$67,961	24%
3	OregonState	1.37	$69,210	$67,194	28%
4	MichiganState	1.36	$61,620	$66,761	22%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.36	$61,480	$66,465	23%
6	NebraskaState	1.35	$60,460	$66,077	21%
7	WisconsinState	1.33	$60,310	$65,341	22%
8	OhioState	1.28	$56,870	$62,909	22%
9	MissouriState	1.27	$55,210	$62,314	22%
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.26	$63,880	$61,720	30%
11	IndianaState	1.21	$53,550	$59,171	24%
12	KansasState	1.16	$51,120	$56,800	24%
13	ColoradoState	1.12	$57,970	$55,000	38%
14	AlabamaState	1.10	$46,970	$53,927	24%
15	South CarolinaState	1.10	$49,610	$53,924	30%
16	CaliforniaState	1.09	$59,250	$53,523	46%
17	IowaState	1.07	$47,010	$52,702	24%
18	VirginiaState	1.07	$54,230	$52,396	35%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$50,280	$51,835	31%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$58,980	$51,965	52%
21	IllinoisState	1.04	$49,750	$51,078	32%
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$59,320	$50,918	46%
23	GeorgiaState	1.02	$46,490	$49,775	37%
24	New YorkState	1.02	$56,350	$50,089	39%
25	ArizonaState	0.99	$48,730	$48,295	37%
26	TennesseeState	0.98	$43,810	$47,880	34%
27	MassachusettsState	0.97	$51,770	$47,714	52%
28	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$45,710	$47,221	42%
29	MississippiState	0.95	$39,550	$46,639	27%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$44,900	$46,193	42%
31	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$44,460	$46,216	42%
32	MarylandState	0.93	$49,920	$45,714	40%
33	NevadaState	0.92	$45,040	$44,950	39%
34	West VirginiaState	0.91	$37,390	$44,406	27%
35	ArkansasState	0.90	$38,120	$44,171	28%
36	ConnecticutState	0.86	$45,120	$41,933	42%
37	KentuckyState	0.83	$36,110	$40,802	32%
38	FloridaState	0.81	$40,480	$39,882	51%
39	TexasState	0.80	$37,390	$39,111	44%
40	New JerseyState	0.67	$35,630	$32,748	61%
41	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.52	$27,750	$25,576	88%

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