Start with the answer
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders pay in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN and Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders is $57,030 per year in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN. It is $85,370 per year in Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN is 33.2% below Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 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 120 wage and salary jobs in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN and 240 in Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA. 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.