Best Cities for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastics

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where molding, coremaking, and casting 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	HawaiiState	1.59	$77,560	$70,509	37%
2	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.42	$66,540	$62,892	30%
3	MaineState	1.34	$59,230	$59,349	26%
4	MarylandState	1.31	$63,460	$58,114	32%
5	KentuckyState	1.20	$47,110	$53,232	24%
6	NebraskaState	1.20	$48,500	$53,005	26%
7	ArkansasState	1.17	$44,790	$51,900	24%
8	North DakotaState	1.16	$47,780	$51,598	25%
9	OklahomaState	1.16	$45,680	$51,616	25%
10	IowaState	1.14	$45,220	$50,695	25%
11	MinnesotaState	1.14	$49,590	$50,602	31%
12	West VirginiaState	1.14	$42,500	$50,475	24%
13	Columbus, OHMetro	1.14	$47,120	$50,396	33%
14	MissouriState	1.12	$44,120	$49,797	28%
15	NevadaState	1.12	$49,590	$49,491	35%
16	OhioState	1.12	$44,830	$49,591	28%
17	South CarolinaState	1.11	$45,270	$49,207	33%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$49,020	$49,266	36%
19	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.11	$45,570	$49,265	31%
20	IndianaState	1.10	$44,290	$48,939	29%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$46,760	$48,206	33%
22	KansasState	1.08	$43,050	$47,833	29%
23	WisconsinState	1.08	$44,230	$47,920	29%
24	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$44,450	$47,899	35%
25	MississippiState	1.06	$39,730	$46,851	27%
26	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$45,100	$47,077	40%
27	ArizonaState	1.05	$46,930	$46,511	38%
28	IllinoisState	1.05	$45,500	$46,715	35%
29	UtahState	1.05	$46,750	$46,657	38%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$45,190	$46,684	43%
31	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.05	$56,130	$46,697	67%
32	GeorgiaState	1.04	$43,250	$46,306	39%
33	ColoradoState	1.03	$48,200	$45,731	46%
34	New MexicoState	1.03	$41,990	$45,641	30%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$43,970	$45,237	43%
36	AlabamaState	1.01	$39,010	$44,788	29%
37	DelawareState	1.01	$45,220	$44,772	36%
38	MontanaState	1.01	$43,340	$44,959	31%
39	New HampshireState	1.01	$47,610	$44,915	40%
40	OregonState	1.01	$46,200	$44,854	41%
41	South DakotaState	1.01	$40,750	$44,879	28%
42	WashingtonState	1.01	$48,290	$45,005	47%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$46,510	$44,937	41%
44	IdahoState	1.00	$42,690	$44,238	34%
45	North CarolinaState	0.99	$41,630	$44,100	38%
46	VirginiaState	0.99	$45,370	$43,836	42%
47	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$40,580	$44,109	39%
48	VermontState	0.98	$44,530	$43,444	38%
49	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$39,790	$43,629	37%
50	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$46,720	$43,340	46%
51	ConnecticutState	0.97	$46,240	$42,974	41%
52	LouisianaState	0.97	$38,650	$42,897	33%
53	TexasState	0.97	$41,140	$43,033	40%
54	CaliforniaState	0.96	$47,240	$42,674	58%
55	MichiganState	0.96	$39,490	$42,784	34%
56	TennesseeState	0.96	$38,820	$42,426	39%
57	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$48,470	$42,406	54%
58	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$42,020	$41,811	43%
59	WyomingState	0.93	$38,160	$41,032	31%
60	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$47,960	$41,167	57%
61	New YorkState	0.89	$44,500	$39,556	50%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$37,970	$39,470	49%
63	MassachusettsState	0.88	$42,570	$39,235	64%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$38,270	$38,853	54%
65	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$43,940	$38,714	70%
66	FloridaState	0.85	$38,440	$37,872	54%
67	New JerseyState	0.83	$39,950	$36,719	54%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$38,270	$35,272	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).