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Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders pay in Arizona and Washington
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders is $44,050 per year in Arizona. It is $51,100 per year in Washington. Arizona is 13.8% below Washington on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-3093 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 560 wage and salary jobs in Arizona and 310 in Washington. 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