Start with the answer
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders pay in Indiana and Minnesota
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders is $58,300 per year in Indiana. It is $75,880 per year in Minnesota. Indiana is 23.2% below Minnesota on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-4051 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 1,520 wage and salary jobs in Indiana and 200 in Minnesota. 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
