Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders salary

SOC 51-4051 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$54,430

per year, nationally

Middle half

$46,080–$62,810

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

16,780

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-2.3%

2,000 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$39,200$74,470

10th: $39,200
25th: $46,080
Median: $54,430
75th: $62,810
90th: $74,470

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where metal-refining furnace operators and tenders earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Minnesota	$75,880	98.6	200	0.63×
2	New Jersey	$75,020	108.8	150	0.32×
3	New York	$66,440	107.9	760	0.72×
4	Oregon	$64,410	103.4	400	1.89×
5	Washington	$62,850	107.0	330	0.86×
6	North Carolina	$60,780	94.3	390	0.73×
7	Utah	$60,510	98.9	330	1.77×
8	Arizona	$59,830	100.7	490	1.40×
9	Kentucky	$59,040	90.2	810	3.75×
10	Massachusetts	$58,480	105.8	240	0.60×
11	California	$58,310	110.7	280	0.14×
12	Indiana	$58,300	93.3	1,520	4.41×
13	Tennessee	$57,490	91.9	730	2.06×
14	Iowa	$57,030	87.8	330	1.94×
15	Virginia	$57,000	101.1	110	0.24×
16	Nevada	$56,790	100.0	130	0.76×
17	West Virginia	$56,290	89.5	70	0.90×
18	Pennsylvania	$55,910	97.6	1,230	1.89×
19	Missouri	$55,480	90.8	200	0.64×
20	Ohio	$55,080	92.8	1,790	2.99×
21	Alabama	$54,260	88.8	1,250	5.50×
22	Nebraska	$52,800	90.1	60	0.52×
23	Illinois	$51,020	100.0	590	0.90×
24	Connecticut	$50,510	103.6	60	0.34×
25	New Mexico	$50,260	92.2	60	0.69×
26	Florida	$49,780	103.4	700	0.65×
27	Oklahoma	$48,890	87.8	110	0.57×
28	Wisconsin	$48,260	94.1	540	1.71×
29	Georgia	$47,750	96.3	230	0.44×
30	Texas	$46,670	97.1	600	0.39×
31	New Hampshire	$46,380	104.2	60	0.79×
32	Michigan	$44,900	96.2	680	1.44×
33	Kansas	$44,800	90.1	100	0.64×
34	South Carolina	$44,160	93.7	290	1.18×
35	Arkansas	$39,920	86.9	490	3.51×
36	Mississippi	$39,610	87.0	120	0.96×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where metal-refining furnace operators and tenders wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$85,370	100.3	240	8.78×
2	Utica-Rome, NY	$77,560	92.7	190	14.72×
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$74,060	105.4	190	1.48×
4	Reading, PA	$68,990	97.1	210	11.06×
5	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$67,360	106.4	60	0.34×
6	Cleveland, OH	$65,660	93.9	520	4.65×
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$63,170	102.6	170	0.55×
8	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$63,170	103.6	700	1.43×
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$61,780	97.3	240	1.62×
10	Huntsville, AL	$61,390	93.1	100	3.55×
11	Pittsburgh, PA	$60,810	94.7	320	2.70×
12	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$60,510	100.9	180	1.97×
13	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$60,430	112.6	80	0.08×
14	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	$60,020	87.1	80	8.30×
15	Columbus, OH	$59,950	95.5	70	0.62×
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$58,310	113.6	160	0.23×
17	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$58,290	111.1	40	0.20×
18	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$57,030	96.3	120	0.98×
19	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$56,710	108.3	160	0.54×
20	Youngstown-Warren, OH	$56,550	87.4	180	10.51×
21	Birmingham, AL	$56,250	91.6	420	7.48×
22	Canton-Massillon, OH	$55,080	89.4	100	5.70×
23	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$53,130	100.9	370	2.34×
24	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$52,230	100.2	80	0.64×
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$51,330	100.3	190	0.94×
26	St. Louis, MO-IL	$51,100	95.1	100	0.70×
27	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$51,080	100.0	160	3.96×
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$50,990	103.1	80	0.17×
29	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$50,510	102.7	30	0.49×
30	Anniston-Oxford, AL	$50,420	85.9	70	15.80×
31	Mansfield, OH	$50,250	88.9	80	14.90×
32	Lancaster, PA	$50,100	98.3	70	2.62×
33	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$50,040	95.7	90	0.80×
34	Jacksonville, FL	$49,780	99.5	80	0.96×
35	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$49,690	95.4	150	1.26×
36	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$49,660	103.3	130	0.52×
37	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$49,440	98.6	130	0.36×
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$49,410	114.2	90	0.29×
39	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$49,310	96.9	110	1.27×
40	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	$48,460	92.7	30	0.86×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where metal-refining furnace operators and tenders wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where metal-refining furnace operators and tenders earn the most

Best paying metro areas for metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

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