Start with the answer
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Connecticut and Iowa
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $60,610 per year in Connecticut. It is $72,670 per year in Iowa. Connecticut is 16.6% below Iowa on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-4023 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 150 wage and salary jobs in Connecticut and 660 in Iowa. 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
