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Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders pay in Maine and North Dakota
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders is $50,220 per year in Maine. It is $77,300 per year in North Dakota. Maine is 35.0% below North Dakota on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-3091 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 100 wage and salary jobs in Maine and 30 in North Dakota. 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.
