Best Cities for Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where textile cutting 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	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.21	$45,220	$46,715	43%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.21	$43,680	$46,717	36%
3	IndianaState	1.19	$41,740	$46,122	30%
4	North CarolinaState	1.19	$43,460	$46,038	36%
5	OhioState	1.19	$41,600	$46,018	30%
6	South CarolinaState	1.17	$41,740	$45,370	36%
7	MississippiState	1.14	$37,600	$44,340	29%
8	ConnecticutState	1.13	$47,160	$43,829	40%
9	New HampshireState	1.12	$45,930	$43,330	41%
10	WisconsinState	1.11	$39,630	$42,936	33%
11	GeorgiaState	1.10	$39,840	$42,655	43%
12	MinnesotaState	1.09	$41,480	$42,327	37%
13	WashingtonState	1.09	$45,380	$42,293	50%
14	OklahomaState	1.08	$37,110	$41,932	31%
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$41,470	$41,678	43%
16	HawaiiState	1.07	$45,760	$41,600	63%
17	LouisianaState	1.07	$37,490	$41,609	34%
18	New YorkState	1.07	$46,810	$41,609	47%
19	AlabamaState	1.04	$35,000	$40,184	33%
20	MassachusettsState	1.04	$43,680	$40,258	62%
21	MichiganState	1.04	$37,280	$40,390	36%
22	TennesseeState	1.04	$36,710	$40,120	41%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$38,520	$40,209	47%
24	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$38,630	$40,156	48%
25	KansasState	1.03	$35,930	$39,922	35%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$40,000	$39,801	45%
27	IllinoisState	1.02	$38,600	$39,630	41%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.00	$44,350	$38,801	59%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$43,680	$38,485	70%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$36,690	$37,825	42%
31	New JerseyState	0.97	$40,780	$37,482	53%
32	ArizonaState	0.96	$37,460	$37,126	48%
33	OregonState	0.96	$38,460	$37,340	50%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$38,200	$36,908	50%
35	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$35,500	$36,041	58%
36	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$34,650	$35,648	55%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$38,460	$35,677	56%
38	CaliforniaState	0.91	$38,870	$35,113	70%
39	FloridaState	0.91	$35,680	$35,153	58%
40	ColoradoState	0.90	$36,870	$34,981	60%
41	KentuckyState	0.90	$31,040	$35,073	37%
42	MissouriState	0.89	$30,540	$34,470	41%
43	ArkansasState	0.87	$29,140	$33,766	36%
44	IowaState	0.87	$30,060	$33,700	38%
45	VirginiaState	0.86	$34,410	$33,246	55%
46	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$37,860	$32,498	72%
47	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$35,390	$32,618	69%
48	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.83	$30,000	$32,328	51%
49	MarylandState	0.82	$34,890	$31,951	58%
50	TexasState	0.81	$30,160	$31,548	55%
51	NevadaState	0.74	$28,630	$28,573	61%

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