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Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators is $109,600 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. It is $51,600 per year in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 112.4% above Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9161 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 1,960 wage and salary jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and 720 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings