Start with the answer
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand pay in Montana and Vermont
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand is $50,460 per year in Montana. It is $56,850 per year in Vermont. Montana is 11.2% below Vermont on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9022 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 Not published wage and salary jobs in Montana and 50 in Vermont. 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