Plant and System Operators, All Other · SOC 51-8099

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Plant and System Operators, All Others

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for plant and system operators, all other. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 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

Plant and System Operators, All Other: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$94,420	90	0.1
2	Reno, NV	$92,870	40	0.2
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$91,310	230	0.1
4	Duluth, MN-WI	$88,290	40	0.3
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$85,590	30	0.0
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$85,300	60	0.0
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$84,390	100	0.1
8	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$83,870	60	0.1
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$83,760	380	0.1
10	Billings, MT	$83,530	50	0.6
11	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$81,660	40	0.1
12	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$80,660	160	0.0
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$80,430	270	0.2
14	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$78,500	290	0.0
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$78,350	70	0.1
16	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$77,330	150	0.1
17	Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	$77,290	Not published	Not published
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$77,130	400	0.1
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$73,540	80	0.1
20	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$72,780	90	0.1
21	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$71,800	30	0.0
22	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	$70,820	70	0.4
23	Columbia, SC	$70,620	40	0.1
24	St. Louis, MO-IL	$69,910	90	0.1
25	Tulsa, OK	$68,950	40	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Plant and System Operators, All Other 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.