Start with the answer
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Duluth, MN-WI and Napa, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is $84,310 per year in Duluth, MN-WI. It is $47,860 per year in Napa, CA. Duluth, MN-WI is 76.2% above Napa, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9021 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 60 wage and salary jobs in Duluth, MN-WI and Not published in Napa, CA. 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