Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders salary

SOC 51-9011 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$58,040

per year, nationally

Middle half

$45,970–$74,080

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

139,630

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+3.3%

14,400 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.

$37,440$92,250

10th: $37,440
25th: $45,970
Median: $58,040
75th: $74,080
90th: $92,250

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 chemical equipment 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	Wyoming	$101,590	92.7	290	1.16×
2	Alabama	$80,330	88.8	3,280	1.73×
3	Montana	$79,570	94.6	40	0.08×
4	Louisiana	$78,580	88.2	6,430	3.70×
5	Idaho	$77,100	95.5	550	0.72×
6	Rhode Island	$69,630	102.3	430	0.96×
7	Washington	$67,300	107.0	1,720	0.54×
8	West Virginia	$66,060	89.5	1,190	1.89×
9	Arkansas	$64,440	86.9	1,160	0.99×
10	Mississippi	$64,360	87.0	990	0.94×
11	Delaware	$63,200	99.8	1,160	2.66×
12	Illinois	$61,940	100.0	5,580	1.02×
13	Tennessee	$60,960	91.9	3,860	1.31×
14	New Mexico	$60,910	92.2	170	0.22×
15	Ohio	$60,550	92.8	7,830	1.57×
16	Texas	$60,150	97.1	20,880	1.65×
17	Virginia	$59,970	101.1	2,040	0.55×
18	Maryland	$59,850	105.0	1,220	0.49×
19	Nebraska	$59,750	90.1	1,020	1.11×
20	Nevada	$58,520	100.0	210	0.15×
21	Connecticut	$58,490	103.6	860	0.57×
22	California	$58,300	110.7	5,670	0.35×
23	Iowa	$57,550	87.8	2,010	1.43×
24	Kentucky	$57,530	90.2	3,590	2.00×
25	Maine	$57,240	97.0	250	0.44×
26	Massachusetts	$56,920	105.8	2,860	0.88×
27	Indiana	$56,800	93.3	6,240	2.17×
28	Pennsylvania	$56,630	97.6	6,230	1.14×
29	Oregon	$56,510	103.4	950	0.54×
30	New Jersey	$56,500	108.8	8,560	2.23×
31	South Carolina	$56,240	93.7	4,040	1.95×
32	Kansas	$54,890	90.1	1,920	1.49×
33	Minnesota	$53,340	98.6	1,170	0.44×
34	Wisconsin	$50,870	94.1	2,730	1.03×
35	Missouri	$50,640	90.8	2,790	1.06×
36	Colorado	$50,370	103.1	910	0.35×
37	Oklahoma	$50,160	87.8	790	0.52×
38	Michigan	$50,060	96.2	5,210	1.32×
39	Georgia	$49,660	96.3	4,330	0.99×
40	North Carolina	$49,650	94.3	5,260	1.19×
41	New York	$49,640	107.9	4,270	0.49×
42	New Hampshire	$49,440	104.2	350	0.57×
43	South Dakota	$48,830	88.6	230	0.55×
44	Hawaii	$47,840	110.0	30	0.06×
45	Arizona	$45,790	100.7	1,330	0.46×
46	Florida	$44,360	103.4	4,270	0.48×
47	Utah	$39,020	98.9	2,610	1.68×

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 chemical equipment operators and tenders wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for chemical equipment 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	Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	$96,790	90.0	1,540	10.48×
2	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$94,450	92.6	1,330	3.34×
3	Baton Rouge, LA	$93,920	90.8	2,500	6.81×
4	Corpus Christi, TX	$91,560	92.7	450	2.59×
5	Mobile, AL	$84,740	88.1	700	4.49×
6	Montgomery, AL	$84,360	89.7	160	1.10×
7	Decatur, AL	$82,170	87.2	760	13.77×
8	Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	$82,050	90.0	290	2.01×
9	Albany, OR	$81,190	102.1	140	3.21×
10	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$79,430	98.6	9,390	3.18×
11	Charleston, WV	$77,670	88.7	280	3.06×
12	Longview-Kelso, WA	$76,390	97.5	110	3.00×
13	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$75,990	100.1	120	1.04×
14	Lake Charles, LA	$74,220	85.9	1,320	14.49×
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$72,660	108.9	590	0.21×
16	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$71,210	115.6	760	0.36×
17	Joplin, MO-KS	$67,790	85.7	120	1.56×
18	Elizabethtown, KY	$67,510	90.6	240	5.23×
19	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$67,300	100.3	310	1.35×
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$67,230	111.1	720	0.39×
21	Hattiesburg, MS	$66,120	87.6	40	0.71×
22	Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	$66,060	87.1	330	10.16×
23	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$64,600	100.4	80	0.71×
24	Vallejo, CA	$63,790	108.5	80	0.64×
25	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$63,510	110.4	260	0.26×
26	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$63,490	93.1	920	1.50×
27	Clarksville, TN-KY	$63,370	90.9	60	0.69×
28	Brunswick-St. Simons, GA	$62,900	87.7	70	1.58×
29	Evansville, IN	$62,870	91.5	760	6.24×
30	Jackson, MS	$62,530	89.0	180	0.75×
31	Peoria, IL	$62,500	91.2	170	1.14×
32	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$62,390	101.6	90	0.64×
33	Ames, IA	$62,300	88.8	80	1.52×
34	Springfield, MA	$62,280	96.1	80	0.42×
35	Cleveland, OH	$62,200	93.9	2,010	2.17×
36	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$61,870	111.9	870	0.63×
37	Richmond, VA	$61,840	97.9	760	1.29×
38	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$61,770	108.8	80	0.44×
39	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$61,720	106.9	280	0.78×
40	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$61,660	101.8	580	0.90×

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 chemical equipment 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.

Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where chemical equipment operators and tenders earn the most

Best paying metro areas for chemical equipment operators and tenders

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