Best Cities for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where welding, soldering, and brazing 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	ArizonaState	1.45	$70,150	$69,524	26%
2	MissouriState	1.32	$56,210	$63,442	22%
3	NebraskaState	1.31	$57,280	$62,601	22%
4	WisconsinState	1.30	$57,640	$62,449	23%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.27	$56,320	$60,690	27%
6	IllinoisState	1.26	$58,840	$60,411	27%
7	AlaskaState	1.25	$62,700	$60,115	26%
8	MinnesotaState	1.23	$57,560	$58,735	27%
9	IowaState	1.21	$51,740	$58,004	22%
10	South DakotaState	1.21	$52,520	$57,841	22%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.21	$57,570	$57,859	31%
12	KentuckyState	1.20	$50,740	$57,333	23%
13	OregonState	1.19	$58,650	$56,942	33%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.16	$60,180	$55,826	36%
15	WashingtonState	1.15	$58,990	$54,977	39%
16	West VirginiaState	1.15	$46,460	$55,178	22%
17	ArkansasState	1.13	$46,880	$54,322	22%
18	LouisianaState	1.13	$48,740	$54,095	26%
19	TexasState	1.12	$51,310	$53,672	32%
20	OhioState	1.11	$48,190	$53,308	26%
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.11	$51,740	$53,230	37%
22	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.11	$51,290	$53,316	36%
23	IdahoState	1.10	$50,850	$52,694	28%
24	KansasState	1.08	$46,710	$51,900	27%
25	TennesseeState	1.08	$47,180	$51,563	32%
26	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$48,520	$50,647	37%
27	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$47,180	$51,005	30%
28	North CarolinaState	1.05	$47,580	$50,403	33%
29	South CarolinaState	1.05	$46,260	$50,283	33%
30	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$50,040	$49,791	36%
31	New JerseyState	1.03	$53,680	$49,338	40%
32	GeorgiaState	1.02	$45,850	$49,090	37%
33	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$47,530	$49,000	33%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$45,830	$49,016	34%
35	IndianaState	1.01	$43,960	$48,575	29%
36	MaineState	1.01	$48,410	$48,507	32%
37	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$44,060	$48,311	33%
38	NevadaState	1.00	$47,870	$47,774	36%
39	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$49,840	$48,155	38%
40	ColoradoState	0.99	$49,860	$47,306	44%
41	VirginiaState	0.99	$49,160	$47,498	38%
42	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$45,580	$47,087	43%
43	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$43,230	$46,989	36%
44	MassachusettsState	0.97	$50,480	$46,525	54%
45	New YorkState	0.97	$52,080	$46,293	43%
46	AlabamaState	0.96	$40,050	$45,982	29%
47	MichiganState	0.96	$42,530	$46,078	32%
48	OklahomaState	0.95	$40,400	$45,650	29%
49	New HampshireState	0.94	$47,500	$44,811	40%
50	ConnecticutState	0.93	$47,900	$44,517	39%
51	CaliforniaState	0.92	$48,940	$44,210	56%
52	MississippiState	0.92	$37,390	$44,092	29%
53	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$50,230	$44,256	61%
54	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.92	$52,800	$43,927	71%
55	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$49,820	$44,167	48%
56	MarylandState	0.90	$47,110	$43,141	43%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$45,090	$41,558	54%
58	FloridaState	0.85	$41,420	$40,808	50%
59	UtahState	0.85	$40,600	$40,519	44%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$39,980	$40,589	52%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.82	$45,990	$39,476	59%
62	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.79	$40,150	$37,949	50%
63	MontanaState	0.77	$35,670	$37,002	38%

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