Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders · SOC 51-9051

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenderss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 69 metro areas

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$81,840	70	0.1
2	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$81,530	40	0.1
3	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$77,440	70	0.1
4	Longview-Kelso, WA	$69,070	60	1.6
5	Savannah, GA	$66,390	40	0.2
6	Vineland, NJ	$62,910	60	1.0
7	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$61,500	50	0.0
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$60,160	150	0.1
9	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$58,670	140	0.0
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$58,460	80	0.0
11	Wichita, KS	$57,650	50	0.2
12	Montgomery, AL	$57,240	70	0.4
13	Birmingham, AL	$57,220	290	0.6
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$55,470	190	0.2
15	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$55,400	30	0.1
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$53,090	100	0.1
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$52,830	70	0.1
18	St. Louis, MO-IL	$52,430	90	0.1
19	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	$52,030	40	0.2
20	Rome, GA	$51,280	30	0.7
21	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$51,170	70	0.1
22	Toledo, OH	$50,960	140	0.5
23	Medford, OR	$50,750	50	0.5
24	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$49,580	40	0.0
25	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$49,170	270	0.0

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.