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Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders pay in South Dakota and Washington
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders is $39,270 per year in South Dakota. It is $51,100 per year in Washington. South Dakota is 23.2% 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 120 wage and salary jobs in South Dakota 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.