Pay by state · 48 states

Chemical Equipment Operator and Tender Salary by State (2026)

Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders earn the most in Wyoming at $101,590 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $36,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $58,040. All 48 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$101,590Wyoming
National median
$58,040BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$36,450Puerto Rico
States reporting
48of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Chemical Equipment Operator and Tender salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of chemical equipment operators and tenders OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1WYWyoming
$101,590
$69,260$101,590290$109,601
2ALAlabama
$80,330
$48,580$84,7403,280$90,438
3MTMontana
$79,570
$53,320$88,94040$84,072
4LALouisiana
$78,580
$59,160$101,8006,430$89,086
5IDIdaho
$77,100
$57,740$77,110550$80,738
6RIRhode Island
$69,630
$45,840$100,240430$68,078
7WAWashington
$67,300
$52,190$78,4701,720$62,890
8WVWest Virginia
$66,060
$56,990$92,6201,190$73,813
9ARArkansas
$64,440
$47,860$82,2801,160$74,123
10MSMississippi
$64,360
$37,450$80,460990$74,017
11DEDelaware
$63,200
$59,390$74,5801,160$63,322
12ILIllinois
$61,940
$47,000$80,5505,580$61,966
13TNTennessee
$60,960
$44,910$74,3103,860$66,355
14NMNew Mexico
$60,910
$42,740$80,890170$66,054
15OHOhio
$60,550
$49,410$74,3407,830$65,266
16TXTexas
$60,150
$42,030$98,86020,880$61,974
17VAVirginia
$59,970
$49,250$65,0302,040$59,315
18MDMaryland
$59,850
$47,640$72,6701,220$57,022
19NENebraska
$59,750
$45,430$63,8401,020$66,313
20NVNevada
$58,520
$47,230$70,130210$58,532
21CTConnecticut
$58,490
$45,140$66,680860$56,452
22CACalifornia
$58,300
$46,990$72,6905,670$52,655
23IAIowa
$57,550
$49,170$67,5902,010$65,575
24KYKentucky
$57,530
$45,870$79,6703,590$63,809
25MEMaine
$57,240
$47,750$61,980250$58,980
26MAMassachusetts
$56,920
$46,470$64,1602,860$53,821
27INIndiana
$56,800
$44,830$63,4906,240$60,860
28PAPennsylvania
$56,630
$45,780$69,7906,230$58,039
29OROregon
$56,510
$47,660$67,010950$54,672
30NJNew Jersey
$56,500
$46,830$68,0508,560$51,928
31SCSouth Carolina
$56,240
$45,880$63,1304,040$59,990
32KSKansas
$54,890
$46,820$64,9001,920$60,943
33MNMinnesota
$53,340
$45,820$64,1501,170$54,086
34WIWisconsin
$50,870
$47,110$60,5902,730$54,062
35MOMissouri
$50,640
$44,530$60,7202,790$55,760
36COColorado
$50,370
$46,110$58,600910$48,878
37OKOklahoma
$50,160
$43,580$68,910790$57,102
38MIMichigan
$50,060
$45,120$64,0205,210$52,028
39GAGeorgia
$49,660
$41,960$60,2504,330$51,572
40NCNorth Carolina
$49,650
$43,820$59,9905,260$52,637
41NYNew York
$49,640
$45,260$65,1904,270$45,997
42NHNew Hampshire
$49,440
$49,440$58,880350$47,463
43SDSouth Dakota
$48,830
$48,140$57,590230$55,122
44HIHawaii
$47,840
$47,490$55,95030$43,510
45AZArizona
$45,790
$39,450$58,4101,330$45,482
46FLFlorida
$44,360
$36,550$59,0204,270$42,896
47UTUtah
$39,020
$35,530$49,9302,610$39,468
48PRPuerto Rico
$36,450
$27,590$45,4702,420N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders, that changes the ranking: Wyoming leads on raw pay at $101,590, while Wyoming leads once prices are taken into account at $109,601.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Chemical Equipment Operator and Tender pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders the most?

Wyoming reports the highest median wage for Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders at $101,590 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Alabama ($80,330) and Montana ($79,570).

Which state pays Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders at $36,450 a year, $65,140 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Wyoming first at $109,601 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $101,590. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.