Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender Salary by State (2026)

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders earn the most in Alaska at $69,910 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $29,850 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $48,250. All 51 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$69,910

Alaska

National median
$48,250

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$29,850

Puerto Rico

States reporting
51

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

  1. 1. Alaska$69,910 median · $68,299 adjusted · 140 employed
  2. 2. Washington$59,980 median · $56,049 adjusted · 3,980 employed
  3. 3. New Jersey$58,240 median · $53,527 adjusted · 2,890 employed
  4. 4. Maine$56,200 median · $57,908 adjusted · 680 employed
  5. 5. Maryland$55,510 median · $52,887 adjusted · 1,010 employed

Lowest-paying states for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

  1. 51. Puerto Rico$29,850 median · no price parity · 150 employed
  2. 50. West Virginia$42,950 median · $47,990 adjusted · 370 employed
  3. 49. Alabama$44,250 median · $49,818 adjusted · 5,250 employed
  4. 48. Michigan$44,670 median · $46,426 adjusted · 7,050 employed
  5. 47. New Mexico$45,730 median · $49,592 adjusted · 400 employed

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, 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
#
1Alaska$69,910$45,210$81,610140$68,299
2Washington$59,980$47,790$78,7403,980$56,049
3New Jersey$58,240$47,320$76,5302,890$53,527
4Maine$56,200$47,430$64,720680$57,908
5Maryland$55,510$45,210$83,7601,010$52,887
6Colorado$53,590$47,480$75,5101,470$52,003
7Mississippi$53,170$43,680$63,1802,010$61,148
8California$52,950$43,840$68,89011,570$47,823
9Connecticut$52,900$44,710$65,4501,550$51,057
10Minnesota$52,210$46,440$62,5003,430$52,940
11Hawaii$51,990$45,040$63,240230$47,285
12Massachusetts$51,150$45,120$59,9802,740$48,366
13North Dakota$51,020$46,110$68,180560$57,352
14Wyoming$50,220$46,670$65,220220$54,180
15Virginia$49,880$45,760$63,4404,130$49,335
16Rhode Island$49,850$41,280$60,840470$48,739
17Oregon$49,400$46,220$61,9802,470$47,794
18Vermont$49,360$46,500$60,000170$50,389
19Nebraska$49,340$46,530$61,030740$54,760
20Iowa$49,330$44,190$59,1603,220$56,209
21Wisconsin$49,170$45,180$57,9606,120$52,256
22Ohio$48,550$42,630$57,9408,320$52,331
23New Hampshire$48,410$45,850$58,170430$46,474
24Pennsylvania$48,340$42,580$58,9406,790$49,543
25South Carolina$48,220$40,130$56,6702,780$51,435
26Illinois$48,000$42,550$57,9806,390$48,020
27New York$48,000$41,530$59,5003,270$44,477
28South Dakota$47,980$40,570$53,3101,150$54,162
29Louisiana$47,950$39,420$57,420810$54,361
30Utah$47,880$39,720$56,2001,740$48,430
31Arizona$47,860$40,590$56,9502,440$47,538
32Florida$47,860$39,990$59,2106,200$46,280
33Missouri$47,580$40,800$60,6703,860$52,391
34Montana$47,380$42,740$55,460330$50,061
35Indiana$47,320$38,890$59,2708,030$50,702
36Tennessee$47,210$39,870$55,6203,880$51,388
37Kentucky$47,170$36,560$53,6902,190$52,319
38Kansas$47,120$38,320$58,0403,160$52,316
39Texas$46,750$38,130$58,17016,600$48,168
40North Carolina$46,730$38,290$55,6505,700$49,541
41Georgia$46,450$39,780$59,9705,900$48,238
42Arkansas$46,380$37,450$49,9601,870$53,349
43Delaware$46,120$37,380$62,510100$46,209
44Idaho$45,810$39,630$51,110760$47,972
45Oklahoma$45,780$38,020$54,7202,520$52,116
46Nevada$45,750$40,130$53,340640$45,760
47New Mexico$45,730$38,220$50,050400$49,592
48Michigan$44,670$38,300$53,3407,050$46,426
49Alabama$44,250$37,210$53,3305,250$49,818
50West Virginia$42,950$37,910$50,690370$47,990
51Puerto Rico$29,850$21,840$34,010150N/A

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 Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, that changes the ranking: Alaska leads on raw pay at $69,910, while Alaska leads once prices are taken into account at $68,299.

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

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders the most?

Alaska reports the highest median wage for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $69,910 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($59,980) and New Jersey ($58,240).

Which state pays Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $29,850 a year, $40,060 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts Alaska first at $68,299 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $69,910. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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