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Pay by state · 51 areas

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 West Virginia at $42,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $48,250. The table below covers all 50 states and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$69,910Alaska
National median
$48,250BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$42,950West Virginia
Areas reporting
51of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Alaska$69,910
  2. 2Washington$59,980
  3. 3New Jersey$58,240
  4. 4Maine$56,200
  5. 5Maryland$55,510

Lowest median pay

  1. 1West Virginia$42,950
  2. 2Alabama$44,250
  3. 3Michigan$44,670
  4. 4New Mexico$45,730
  5. 5Nevada$45,750

All states

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
#
1AKAlaska
$69,910
$45,210$81,610140$68,299
2WAWashington
$59,980
$47,790$78,7403,980$56,049
3NJNew Jersey
$58,240
$47,320$76,5302,890$53,527
4MEMaine
$56,200
$47,430$64,720680$57,908
5MDMaryland
$55,510
$45,210$83,7601,010$52,887
6COColorado
$53,590
$47,480$75,5101,470$52,003
7MSMississippi
$53,170
$43,680$63,1802,010$61,148
8CACalifornia
$52,950
$43,840$68,89011,570$47,823
9CTConnecticut
$52,900
$44,710$65,4501,550$51,057
10MNMinnesota
$52,210
$46,440$62,5003,430$52,940
11HIHawaii
$51,990
$45,040$63,240230$47,285
12MAMassachusetts
$51,150
$45,120$59,9802,740$48,366
13NDNorth Dakota
$51,020
$46,110$68,180560$57,352
14WYWyoming
$50,220
$46,670$65,220220$54,180
15VAVirginia
$49,880
$45,760$63,4404,130$49,335
16RIRhode Island
$49,850
$41,280$60,840470$48,739
17OROregon
$49,400
$46,220$61,9802,470$47,794
18VTVermont
$49,360
$46,500$60,000170$50,389
19NENebraska
$49,340
$46,530$61,030740$54,760
20IAIowa
$49,330
$44,190$59,1603,220$56,209
21WIWisconsin
$49,170
$45,180$57,9606,120$52,256
22OHOhio
$48,550
$42,630$57,9408,320$52,331
23NHNew Hampshire
$48,410
$45,850$58,170430$46,474
24PAPennsylvania
$48,340
$42,580$58,9406,790$49,543
25SCSouth Carolina
$48,220
$40,130$56,6702,780$51,435
26ILIllinois
$48,000
$42,550$57,9806,390$48,020
27NYNew York
$48,000
$41,530$59,5003,270$44,477
28SDSouth Dakota
$47,980
$40,570$53,3101,150$54,162
29LALouisiana
$47,950
$39,420$57,420810$54,361
30UTUtah
$47,880
$39,720$56,2001,740$48,430
31AZArizona
$47,860
$40,590$56,9502,440$47,538
32FLFlorida
$47,860
$39,990$59,2106,200$46,280
33MOMissouri
$47,580
$40,800$60,6703,860$52,391
34MTMontana
$47,380
$42,740$55,460330$50,061
35INIndiana
$47,320
$38,890$59,2708,030$50,702
36TNTennessee
$47,210
$39,870$55,6203,880$51,388
37KYKentucky
$47,170
$36,560$53,6902,190$52,319
38KSKansas
$47,120
$38,320$58,0403,160$52,316
39TXTexas
$46,750
$38,130$58,17016,600$48,168
40NCNorth Carolina
$46,730
$38,290$55,6505,700$49,541
41GAGeorgia
$46,450
$39,780$59,9705,900$48,238
42ARArkansas
$46,380
$37,450$49,9601,870$53,349
43DEDelaware
$46,120
$37,380$62,510100$46,209
44IDIdaho
$45,810
$39,630$51,110760$47,972
45OKOklahoma
$45,780
$38,020$54,7202,520$52,116
46NVNevada
$45,750
$40,130$53,340640$45,760
47NMNew Mexico
$45,730
$38,220$50,050400$49,592
48MIMichigan
$44,670
$38,300$53,3407,050$46,426
49ALAlabama
$44,250
$37,210$53,3305,250$49,818
50WVWest Virginia
$42,950
$37,910$50,690370$47,990
51PRPuerto Rico
$29,850
$21,840$34,010150N/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 coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders, the adjustment does not change the leader: Alaska is first on raw pay and still first 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.

Questions

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?

Among the 50 states, West Virginia reports the lowest median for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders at $42,950 a year, $26,960 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $29,850.

Is the highest-paying state the best for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders after cost of living?

Yes. Alaska stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $68,299 in national-average dollars from a raw $69,910. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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