Best Cities for Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still 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	2.27	$108,900	$117,097	11%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.60	$80,140	$82,789	24%
3	KentuckyState	1.29	$58,770	$66,407	20%
4	LouisianaState	1.26	$58,640	$65,083	21%
5	WisconsinState	1.26	$60,100	$65,114	22%
6	North DakotaState	1.24	$59,390	$64,136	20%
7	NevadaState	1.22	$62,960	$62,834	28%
8	IndianaState	1.16	$53,990	$59,657	23%
9	GeorgiaState	1.15	$55,500	$59,422	31%
10	IowaState	1.13	$52,220	$58,543	22%
11	MinnesotaState	1.13	$57,190	$58,357	27%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.12	$57,700	$57,990	31%
13	ArizonaState	1.11	$57,820	$57,304	31%
14	MaineState	1.11	$57,190	$57,305	27%
15	VirginiaState	1.11	$59,480	$57,469	32%
16	New HampshireState	1.10	$60,340	$56,925	32%
17	MissouriState	1.08	$49,290	$55,632	25%
18	OklahomaState	1.08	$49,440	$55,864	23%
19	South DakotaState	1.08	$50,780	$55,925	23%
20	TennesseeState	1.07	$50,470	$55,158	30%
21	IdahoState	1.05	$52,160	$54,052	28%
22	KansasState	1.05	$48,790	$54,211	25%
23	AlabamaState	1.04	$46,970	$53,927	24%
24	MichiganState	1.04	$49,480	$53,608	27%
25	New JerseyState	1.04	$58,140	$53,438	37%
26	South CarolinaState	1.04	$49,320	$53,609	31%
27	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$56,370	$53,280	36%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$49,920	$53,390	31%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$48,630	$53,322	30%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$49,290	$53,114	31%
31	OhioState	1.02	$47,640	$52,699	26%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$50,260	$52,463	36%
33	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$48,590	$52,530	29%
34	North CarolinaState	1.01	$49,140	$52,055	32%
35	VermontState	1.01	$53,570	$52,263	32%
36	WashingtonState	1.01	$56,160	$52,339	41%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$59,080	$52,053	52%
38	MississippiState	1.00	$43,890	$51,757	24%
39	NebraskaState	1.00	$47,080	$51,454	27%
40	MarylandState	0.99	$55,580	$50,897	36%
41	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$58,430	$51,120	45%
42	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$57,900	$51,330	41%
43	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$50,000	$50,761	41%
44	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$48,390	$49,887	32%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$48,660	$50,062	39%
46	IllinoisState	0.96	$48,440	$49,733	32%
47	MontanaState	0.96	$47,920	$49,710	28%
48	New YorkState	0.96	$55,990	$49,769	40%
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$51,030	$49,304	38%
50	FloridaState	0.95	$49,610	$48,877	42%
51	TexasState	0.95	$46,910	$49,069	35%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$44,910	$48,815	35%
53	ArkansasState	0.94	$41,720	$48,343	25%
54	OregonState	0.94	$50,160	$48,699	38%
55	CaliforniaState	0.93	$52,910	$47,796	51%
56	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.92	$56,910	$47,346	66%
57	ColoradoState	0.91	$49,590	$47,049	45%
58	ConnecticutState	0.91	$50,370	$46,812	37%
59	DelawareState	0.91	$47,520	$47,050	34%
60	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.91	$50,380	$46,735	43%
61	HawaiiState	0.90	$51,070	$46,427	56%
62	Rhode IslandState	0.90	$46,710	$46,478	39%
63	UtahState	0.90	$46,600	$46,507	38%
64	AlaskaState	0.89	$48,000	$46,021	34%
65	MassachusettsState	0.87	$48,970	$45,134	55%
66	New MexicoState	0.87	$41,370	$44,967	30%
67	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$42,920	$44,615	44%
68	West VirginiaState	0.83	$35,870	$42,601	28%
69	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.80	$47,950	$41,159	57%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$41,730	$38,461	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).