Best Cities for Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Woods

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, woods 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	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$54,090	$54,362	33%
2	IowaState	1.26	$48,090	$53,913	24%
3	MinnesotaState	1.22	$51,330	$52,378	30%
4	LouisianaState	1.21	$46,610	$51,731	27%
5	NebraskaState	1.20	$46,970	$51,333	27%
6	MontanaState	1.19	$49,090	$50,923	28%
7	AlaskaState	1.18	$52,680	$50,508	31%
8	IdahoState	1.17	$48,350	$50,104	30%
9	OhioState	1.16	$45,010	$49,790	28%
10	OregonState	1.13	$49,740	$48,291	38%
11	WashingtonState	1.13	$51,940	$48,406	44%
12	WisconsinState	1.13	$44,440	$48,147	29%
13	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.13	$55,280	$48,364	48%
14	IllinoisState	1.12	$46,530	$47,772	34%
15	ConnecticutState	1.11	$51,150	$47,537	37%
16	IndianaState	1.10	$42,620	$47,094	30%
17	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.10	$45,360	$47,152	41%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$43,490	$47,016	33%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$43,480	$46,503	36%
20	MaineState	1.08	$46,210	$46,303	34%
21	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$49,740	$46,141	43%
22	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$48,300	$45,652	42%
23	VermontState	1.05	$46,040	$44,917	37%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$40,880	$44,825	36%
25	ColoradoState	1.04	$47,030	$44,620	47%
26	MassachusettsState	1.02	$47,210	$43,512	57%
27	MichiganState	1.02	$40,260	$43,619	33%
28	MississippiState	1.02	$36,960	$43,585	29%
29	New HampshireState	1.02	$46,090	$43,481	41%
30	AlabamaState	1.01	$37,520	$43,077	31%
31	MarylandState	1.01	$47,060	$43,095	43%
32	UtahState	1.01	$43,490	$43,403	41%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$44,520	$43,014	43%
34	ArkansasState	1.00	$36,740	$42,572	29%
35	CaliforniaState	1.00	$47,390	$42,809	57%
36	GeorgiaState	1.00	$39,860	$42,677	43%
37	MissouriState	1.00	$38,030	$42,923	33%
38	South CarolinaState	1.00	$39,300	$42,717	38%
39	TennesseeState	1.00	$39,070	$42,699	39%
40	ArizonaState	0.99	$42,870	$42,488	42%
41	West VirginiaState	0.99	$35,590	$42,268	28%
42	WyomingState	0.99	$39,470	$42,441	30%
43	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$39,200	$42,241	39%
44	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.99	$50,720	$42,196	74%
45	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$40,590	$41,845	38%
46	KentuckyState	0.97	$36,810	$41,593	31%
47	South DakotaState	0.97	$37,480	$41,278	31%
48	KansasState	0.96	$36,930	$41,033	34%
49	New JerseyState	0.96	$44,630	$41,020	48%
50	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$39,610	$40,919	49%
51	OklahomaState	0.95	$36,140	$40,836	32%
52	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$39,110	$40,825	46%
53	North CarolinaState	0.94	$38,100	$40,360	41%
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$36,890	$40,098	42%
55	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$46,380	$39,811	59%
56	NevadaState	0.92	$39,350	$39,271	44%
57	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$44,620	$39,557	54%
58	TexasState	0.90	$36,740	$38,431	45%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.90	$37,620	$38,704	51%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$37,570	$38,142	55%
61	FloridaState	0.88	$38,280	$37,714	54%
62	New MexicoState	0.88	$34,720	$37,739	36%
63	New YorkState	0.88	$42,250	$37,556	52%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$39,040	$35,982	63%
65	VirginiaState	0.81	$35,790	$34,580	53%

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