Best Cities for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where packaging and filling 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	West VirginiaState	1.28	$46,410	$55,119	22%
2	MissouriState	1.26	$48,070	$54,255	26%
3	WyomingState	1.22	$48,890	$52,570	24%
4	KentuckyState	1.19	$45,450	$51,356	25%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.19	$47,530	$51,218	32%
6	IowaState	1.18	$45,660	$51,188	25%
7	North DakotaState	1.18	$47,390	$51,177	25%
8	NebraskaState	1.17	$46,220	$50,514	27%
9	WisconsinState	1.16	$46,220	$50,076	28%
10	KansasState	1.15	$44,890	$49,878	28%
11	IndianaState	1.14	$44,600	$49,282	28%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.13	$45,600	$48,770	34%
13	IdahoState	1.12	$46,720	$48,415	31%
14	South DakotaState	1.12	$43,860	$48,304	26%
15	MaineState	1.11	$47,970	$48,066	32%
16	OhioState	1.11	$43,310	$47,909	29%
17	TennesseeState	1.09	$43,190	$47,202	35%
18	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.09	$45,380	$47,173	41%
19	New HampshireState	1.08	$49,450	$46,651	38%
20	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$44,330	$46,273	41%
21	GeorgiaState	1.06	$42,920	$45,953	40%
22	MontanaState	1.06	$44,350	$46,006	31%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$44,480	$45,856	35%
24	MichiganState	1.05	$41,690	$45,168	32%
25	VermontState	1.05	$46,670	$45,532	37%
26	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$44,740	$44,965	40%
27	IllinoisState	1.03	$43,150	$44,302	36%
28	MississippiState	1.03	$37,720	$44,481	28%
29	OklahomaState	1.03	$39,310	$44,418	30%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$40,820	$44,130	35%
31	ArkansasState	1.01	$37,740	$43,731	28%
32	ColoradoState	1.01	$46,010	$43,653	48%
33	North CarolinaState	1.01	$41,150	$43,591	38%
34	OregonState	1.01	$45,180	$43,864	42%
35	South CarolinaState	1.01	$40,010	$43,489	38%
36	UtahState	1.01	$43,780	$43,693	41%
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$42,320	$43,719	46%
38	AlabamaState	1.00	$37,820	$43,421	30%
39	VirginiaState	1.00	$44,950	$43,430	42%
40	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$39,300	$43,092	37%
41	LouisianaState	0.99	$38,370	$42,586	33%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$44,340	$42,841	43%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$45,440	$42,152	47%
44	MinnesotaState	0.97	$40,960	$41,796	38%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$40,610	$41,780	47%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$38,210	$41,533	41%
47	TexasState	0.94	$38,950	$40,743	43%
48	ArizonaState	0.93	$40,560	$40,198	44%
49	MarylandState	0.93	$43,670	$39,991	46%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$42,320	$40,000	48%
51	CaliforniaState	0.92	$44,020	$39,765	62%
52	New MexicoState	0.90	$35,640	$38,739	35%
53	WashingtonState	0.90	$41,700	$38,863	55%
54	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$44,390	$39,110	69%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$38,070	$38,650	54%
56	DelawareState	0.88	$38,500	$38,119	42%
57	Rhode IslandState	0.88	$38,330	$38,139	47%
58	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.88	$45,740	$38,053	82%
59	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$43,370	$37,944	61%
60	AlaskaState	0.86	$38,730	$37,133	42%
61	MassachusettsState	0.86	$40,360	$37,198	67%
62	NevadaState	0.86	$37,440	$37,365	47%
63	New JerseyState	0.86	$40,280	$37,022	54%
64	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$43,470	$37,313	63%
65	ConnecticutState	0.85	$39,460	$36,673	48%
66	FloridaState	0.85	$37,170	$36,621	56%
67	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.85	$41,350	$36,658	58%
68	New YorkState	0.81	$39,330	$34,960	56%
69	HawaiiState	0.77	$36,810	$33,464	78%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$35,810	$33,005	68%

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