Best Cities for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where paper goods 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	OklahomaState	1.43	$63,640	$71,910	18%
2	KentuckyState	1.30	$58,050	$65,593	20%
3	LouisianaState	1.29	$58,230	$64,628	22%
4	WisconsinState	1.25	$58,050	$62,893	22%
5	MaineState	1.23	$61,780	$61,904	25%
6	UtahState	1.21	$60,790	$60,669	29%
7	AlabamaState	1.19	$52,290	$60,034	22%
8	IdahoState	1.19	$57,950	$60,052	25%
9	MinnesotaState	1.18	$58,150	$59,337	26%
10	New MexicoState	1.17	$53,930	$58,620	23%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$57,840	$58,131	31%
12	IllinoisState	1.15	$56,400	$57,906	28%
13	ArkansasState	1.12	$48,630	$56,350	22%
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$51,220	$56,162	29%
15	MississippiState	1.11	$47,380	$55,873	23%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$64,020	$56,010	41%
17	OregonState	1.10	$56,810	$55,155	34%
18	WashingtonState	1.10	$59,410	$55,368	38%
19	MichiganState	1.09	$50,540	$54,756	27%
20	South CarolinaState	1.08	$50,040	$54,391	30%
21	GeorgiaState	1.07	$50,160	$53,704	34%
22	IndianaState	1.07	$48,780	$53,901	26%
23	MissouriState	1.07	$47,560	$53,679	26%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$55,810	$53,923	34%
25	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$51,780	$53,381	30%
26	NebraskaState	1.04	$47,980	$52,437	26%
27	OhioState	1.04	$47,450	$52,489	26%
28	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$49,970	$52,161	36%
29	IowaState	1.03	$46,110	$51,693	25%
30	South DakotaState	1.03	$46,910	$51,663	25%
31	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$58,820	$51,824	52%
32	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$48,340	$51,701	32%
33	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$48,220	$51,961	32%
34	TennesseeState	1.02	$46,920	$51,279	32%
35	KansasState	1.01	$45,840	$50,933	27%
36	North CarolinaState	1.01	$47,940	$50,784	33%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.01	$47,010	$50,822	30%
38	TexasState	1.00	$47,830	$50,031	35%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$48,640	$50,041	39%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$48,150	$49,742	40%
41	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$47,650	$49,532	39%
42	ArizonaState	0.97	$49,160	$48,722	37%
43	FloridaState	0.96	$48,910	$48,187	42%
44	Rhode IslandState	0.96	$48,710	$48,468	37%
45	VirginiaState	0.96	$49,900	$48,213	38%
46	DelawareState	0.95	$48,110	$47,634	34%
47	NevadaState	0.95	$47,780	$47,685	36%
48	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$51,360	$47,644	42%
49	New HampshireState	0.94	$50,200	$47,358	38%
50	New YorkState	0.93	$52,800	$46,933	42%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$45,960	$46,660	45%
52	ColoradoState	0.92	$48,940	$46,433	45%
53	ConnecticutState	0.90	$48,530	$45,102	39%
54	MassachusettsState	0.90	$48,840	$45,014	55%
55	CaliforniaState	0.88	$48,730	$44,020	56%
56	MarylandState	0.87	$47,780	$43,755	42%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$47,510	$43,788	52%
58	New JerseyState	0.84	$45,950	$42,233	47%
59	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$48,930	$42,000	56%
60	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.71	$40,350	$35,771	59%

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