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Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic Salary: Illinois vs Iowa

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic earn a median of $49,470 in Illinois and $56,380 in Iowa. That is a nominal gap of $6,910 (-12.3%), with Iowa paying more before any cost-of-living adjustment.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities, most recent release.

$49,470
Illinois median
$49,491 after COL
$56,380
Iowa median
$64,242 after COL
-12.3%
Nominal gap
Iowa leads
-23.0%
Adjusted gap
Iowa leads after COL

The story behind the numbers

On raw wages, Iowa pays $6,910 more per year than Illinois for rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, a gap of +12.3%.

After adjusting for cost of living, Iowa still comes out ahead, with roughly $14,751 of extra purchasing power (+23.0% real gap). Local prices do not reverse the nominal advantage.

Full breakdown by location

Detailed wage, employment, and cost-of-living figures for rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in each location. Click through to the full local salary page for percentiles, outlook, and peer areas.

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic

Illinois

Median salary
$49,470
Mean salary
$54,200
Employment
660
Location quotient
0.75
Jobs per 1,000
0.1
COL-adjusted median
$49,491
Regional Price Parity
100.0%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic page for Illinois →

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic

Iowa

Median salary
$56,380
Mean salary
$55,340
Employment
560
Location quotient
2.47
Jobs per 1,000
0.4
COL-adjusted median
$64,242
Regional Price Parity
87.8%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic page for Iowa →

Related pages

Keep digging into rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic from a different angle.

Common questions about this comparison

What does the cost-of-living adjustment actually do? +

It divides each location's nominal median wage by its Regional Price Parity (RPP), which measures how local prices compare to the national average (100 = national). A wage of $100,000 in an area with RPP 120 has the same purchasing power as roughly $83,000 nationally.

Why would the nominal and adjusted winners disagree? +

High-cost metros often pay higher salaries, but not by enough to fully offset the higher cost of housing, goods, and services. When that happens, the location with the lower nominal wage actually offers more real purchasing power.

What is a location quotient? +

The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is in a given area versus the national average. A value of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as common there as nationally. It is a signal of what a state specializes in.