Best Cities for Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where mixing and blending machine setters, 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	WyomingState	1.28	$58,320	$62,710	20%
2	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.28	$58,260	$62,780	26%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.26	$61,310	$61,618	29%
4	West VirginiaState	1.24	$51,020	$60,594	20%
5	MinnesotaState	1.23	$59,270	$60,480	26%
6	IowaState	1.18	$51,570	$57,814	22%
7	MissouriState	1.16	$50,340	$56,817	25%
8	KansasState	1.15	$50,750	$56,389	24%
9	WisconsinState	1.15	$52,200	$56,555	25%
10	MaineState	1.14	$55,540	$55,651	28%
11	MassachusettsState	1.14	$60,790	$56,028	45%
12	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.13	$51,030	$55,168	28%
13	IllinoisState	1.12	$53,560	$54,990	29%
14	KentuckyState	1.12	$48,490	$54,791	24%
15	MississippiState	1.12	$46,410	$54,729	23%
16	South DakotaState	1.10	$49,000	$53,965	23%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$50,350	$53,850	31%
18	NebraskaState	1.09	$49,050	$53,607	26%
19	AlabamaState	1.08	$46,050	$52,870	25%
20	New JerseyState	1.08	$57,810	$53,134	37%
21	OhioState	1.08	$47,720	$52,788	26%
22	OklahomaState	1.08	$47,000	$53,107	25%
23	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$59,900	$53,103	40%
24	IndianaState	1.07	$47,650	$52,652	27%
25	LouisianaState	1.07	$47,330	$52,531	27%
26	TennesseeState	1.07	$47,840	$52,284	32%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$59,270	$52,220	52%
28	ArkansasState	1.06	$44,650	$51,738	24%
29	North DakotaState	1.06	$48,000	$51,836	24%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$50,550	$52,113	31%
31	South CarolinaState	1.06	$47,740	$51,891	32%
32	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$58,990	$51,610	45%
33	DelawareState	1.04	$51,460	$50,950	32%
34	GeorgiaState	1.03	$47,000	$50,321	36%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$46,140	$50,592	32%
36	ConnecticutState	1.02	$53,830	$50,028	35%
37	North CarolinaState	1.02	$47,020	$49,809	33%
38	WashingtonState	1.02	$53,800	$50,140	42%
39	MarylandState	1.00	$53,480	$48,974	38%
40	New HampshireState	1.00	$51,920	$48,981	37%
41	OregonState	1.00	$50,420	$48,951	38%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$46,800	$48,852	38%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$50,570	$48,860	38%
44	NevadaState	0.99	$48,460	$48,363	36%
45	VirginiaState	0.99	$49,970	$48,280	38%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$47,180	$48,740	41%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$46,710	$48,555	40%
48	ArizonaState	0.98	$48,280	$47,849	37%
49	MichiganState	0.98	$44,310	$48,007	30%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$50,610	$47,836	40%
51	AlaskaState	0.97	$49,740	$47,689	33%
52	Rhode IslandState	0.97	$47,610	$47,373	38%
53	TexasState	0.97	$45,320	$47,406	37%
54	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$51,460	$47,737	42%
55	New YorkState	0.96	$53,170	$47,262	42%
56	UtahState	0.96	$47,180	$47,086	38%
57	IdahoState	0.95	$44,690	$46,311	32%
58	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$45,320	$46,626	42%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$42,770	$46,489	37%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$46,000	$46,701	45%
61	ColoradoState	0.94	$48,520	$46,034	46%
62	CaliforniaState	0.93	$50,640	$45,745	54%
63	FloridaState	0.93	$46,000	$45,320	45%
64	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.91	$53,860	$44,809	70%
65	VermontState	0.90	$45,420	$44,312	38%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$48,870	$41,948	56%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$45,190	$41,650	54%
68	New MexicoState	0.82	$36,980	$40,196	34%
69	MontanaState	0.81	$38,410	$39,844	35%

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