Best Cities for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawings

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawings 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	IowaState	1.32	$51,200	$57,399	22%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.32	$56,950	$57,236	31%
3	NebraskaState	1.24	$49,190	$53,760	25%
4	LouisianaState	1.21	$47,170	$52,353	27%
5	MinnesotaState	1.21	$51,540	$52,592	30%
6	MichiganState	1.19	$47,680	$51,658	28%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.15	$45,600	$50,000	32%
8	MississippiState	1.14	$42,090	$49,634	26%
9	North DakotaState	1.14	$45,820	$49,482	26%
10	WashingtonState	1.14	$52,980	$49,376	43%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.13	$56,180	$49,151	47%
12	KansasState	1.12	$43,580	$48,422	28%
13	OhioState	1.12	$43,930	$48,595	29%
14	OregonState	1.11	$49,480	$48,039	39%
15	WisconsinState	1.11	$44,450	$48,158	29%
16	West VirginiaState	1.10	$40,020	$47,530	25%
17	IdahoState	1.09	$45,730	$47,389	31%
18	MontanaState	1.09	$45,610	$47,313	30%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$43,770	$46,813	36%
20	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$43,420	$46,941	33%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$44,980	$46,371	35%
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$49,850	$46,243	43%
23	IndianaState	1.06	$41,600	$45,967	30%
24	South DakotaState	1.06	$41,740	$45,969	28%
25	New JerseyState	1.05	$49,680	$45,662	43%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$45,880	$45,652	39%
27	South CarolinaState	1.05	$41,990	$45,641	36%
28	VermontState	1.05	$46,480	$45,346	37%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$46,850	$45,266	41%
30	ColoradoState	1.02	$46,500	$44,118	48%
31	MaineState	1.02	$44,370	$44,459	35%
32	ConnecticutState	1.01	$47,140	$43,810	40%
33	MissouriState	1.01	$38,640	$43,612	32%
34	New HampshireState	1.01	$46,450	$43,821	41%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$46,380	$43,837	43%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$42,070	$43,914	43%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.00	$40,160	$43,276	38%
38	KentuckyState	0.99	$38,080	$43,028	30%
39	MassachusettsState	0.99	$46,430	$42,793	58%
40	WyomingState	0.99	$39,930	$42,935	30%
41	ArkansasState	0.98	$36,850	$42,700	29%
42	IllinoisState	0.98	$41,360	$42,464	38%
43	MarylandState	0.98	$46,470	$42,555	43%
44	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$48,330	$42,581	63%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$47,990	$42,544	50%
46	AlabamaState	0.97	$36,750	$42,193	31%
47	CaliforniaState	0.97	$46,370	$41,888	59%
48	New MexicoState	0.97	$38,650	$42,011	33%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$40,560	$42,162	46%
50	NevadaState	0.95	$41,090	$41,008	42%
51	OklahomaState	0.94	$35,990	$40,667	32%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$39,200	$40,329	49%
53	GeorgiaState	0.92	$37,380	$40,021	45%
54	North CarolinaState	0.92	$37,550	$39,778	42%
55	ArizonaState	0.90	$39,440	$39,088	46%
56	New YorkState	0.90	$43,720	$38,862	51%
57	UtahState	0.90	$39,260	$39,182	46%
58	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$45,660	$39,193	60%
59	TennesseeState	0.89	$35,290	$38,568	43%
60	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$37,370	$38,605	52%
61	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$35,700	$38,804	44%
62	FloridaState	0.88	$38,740	$38,167	53%
63	VirginiaState	0.88	$39,370	$38,039	48%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$36,720	$37,279	56%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$40,210	$37,060	61%
66	TexasState	0.82	$33,840	$35,397	49%

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