Best Cities for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastics

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool 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	West VirginiaState	1.27	$49,950	$59,323	20%
2	KentuckyState	1.19	$49,160	$55,548	23%
3	OregonState	1.19	$57,290	$55,621	33%
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.17	$58,680	$54,434	37%
5	MinnesotaState	1.14	$51,780	$52,837	30%
6	NebraskaState	1.14	$48,500	$53,005	26%
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.14	$51,000	$53,236	35%
8	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.13	$48,530	$52,465	29%
9	IndianaState	1.12	$47,310	$52,276	27%
10	IowaState	1.12	$46,380	$51,996	25%
11	MissouriState	1.12	$46,270	$52,223	27%
12	South CarolinaState	1.12	$48,040	$52,217	31%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.12	$51,990	$52,251	34%
14	North DakotaState	1.11	$47,670	$51,479	25%
15	WisconsinState	1.10	$47,330	$51,278	28%
16	North CarolinaState	1.09	$47,770	$50,604	33%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$46,360	$50,833	32%
18	MississippiState	1.08	$42,660	$50,307	25%
19	OhioState	1.08	$45,270	$50,077	28%
20	WyomingState	1.08	$46,800	$50,323	25%
21	MichiganState	1.06	$45,460	$49,252	30%
22	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$47,650	$49,124	33%
23	VermontState	1.06	$50,640	$49,405	34%
24	GeorgiaState	1.05	$45,850	$49,090	37%
25	TennesseeState	1.05	$44,710	$48,863	34%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$44,860	$48,341	34%
27	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$46,670	$48,514	40%
28	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$46,490	$48,027	42%
29	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$44,650	$47,754	35%
30	IdahoState	1.02	$45,980	$47,648	31%
31	IllinoisState	1.02	$46,180	$47,413	34%
32	KansasState	1.02	$42,710	$47,456	29%
33	MaineState	1.02	$47,230	$47,325	33%
34	MassachusettsState	1.01	$50,910	$46,922	53%
35	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$53,930	$47,183	49%
36	ArkansasState	0.99	$39,590	$45,875	27%
37	NevadaState	0.99	$46,140	$46,048	38%
38	WashingtonState	0.99	$49,300	$45,946	46%
39	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$47,650	$46,039	40%
40	ConnecticutState	0.97	$48,590	$45,158	39%
41	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$51,070	$44,996	60%
42	ArizonaState	0.96	$44,990	$44,589	40%
43	TexasState	0.95	$42,250	$44,195	39%
44	UtahState	0.95	$44,320	$44,232	40%
45	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$46,760	$44,197	43%
46	AlabamaState	0.94	$38,170	$43,823	30%
47	ColoradoState	0.94	$46,120	$43,757	48%
48	DelawareState	0.94	$44,390	$43,950	37%
49	New HampshireState	0.94	$46,580	$43,943	41%
50	New YorkState	0.94	$49,290	$43,813	45%
51	OklahomaState	0.94	$38,570	$43,582	30%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$42,700	$43,930	45%
53	MontanaState	0.93	$41,740	$43,299	32%
54	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$43,650	$43,433	41%
55	LouisianaState	0.92	$38,650	$42,897	33%
56	South DakotaState	0.92	$39,060	$43,018	29%
57	VirginiaState	0.90	$43,170	$41,710	44%
58	CaliforniaState	0.89	$45,890	$41,454	59%
59	New MexicoState	0.89	$38,020	$41,326	33%
60	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$37,960	$41,261	41%
61	New JerseyState	0.88	$44,450	$40,855	49%
62	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.88	$49,230	$40,957	77%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$40,310	$40,924	51%
64	MarylandState	0.86	$43,530	$39,863	46%
65	FloridaState	0.85	$40,310	$39,714	51%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$45,440	$39,004	60%
67	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.77	$40,600	$35,993	59%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$38,220	$35,226	64%

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