Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders Salaries by State

Q: How much do food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders make in the U.S.?

The median food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders salary in the United States is $44,810 per year (mean $45,930), and about 80% earn between $33,250 and $62,680.

Q: How much do food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders make per hour?

Roughly $22 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $45,930 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders the most?

North Dakota has the highest average pay for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders at $63,860 per year (median $77,300).

Q: What is the job outlook for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders?

Employment is projected to change +0.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 2,400 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenderss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $45,930 ≈ $22/hr

National median salary $44,810

Total employment 20,370 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +0.6% Slower than average

Annual openings 2,400 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 20,700 → 20,800 (+100)

Typical entry education No formal educational credential

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $37,000–$41,000 $41,000–$44,000 $44,000–$47,000 $47,000–$50,000 $50,000–$64,000 U.S. mean $45,930

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

North Dakota$63,860
Maryland$61,310
Virginia$58,810
Colorado$56,550
Nevada$55,520

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Florida$36,500
Mississippi$36,550
Texas$37,590
New Mexico$37,860
Montana$38,500

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	North Dakota	$63,860	$77,300	$31	+39%	30
2	Maryland	$61,310	$60,170	$29	+33.5%	200
3	Virginia	$58,810	$59,260	$28	+28%	270
4	Colorado	$56,550	$59,590	$27	+23.1%	500
5	Nevada	$55,520	$54,950	$27	+20.9%	130
6	Minnesota	$55,400	$50,340	$27	+20.6%	1,120
7	Washington	$53,090	$50,590	$26	+15.6%	720
8	Alaska	$51,140	$55,280	$25	+11.3%	30
9	Pennsylvania	$50,450	$49,660	$24	+9.8%	540
10	Maine	$49,920	$50,220	$24	+8.7%	100
11	Oregon	$49,310	$46,250	$24	+7.4%	500
12	Iowa	$49,070	$47,960	$24	+6.8%	660
13	New York	$48,970	$49,020	$24	+6.6%	1,370
14	Wisconsin	$48,950	$48,560	$24	+6.6%	540
15	Kentucky	$48,790	$48,540	$23	+6.2%	340
16	Michigan	$47,700	$48,240	$23	+3.9%	700
17	Massachusetts	$46,790	$45,400	$23	+1.9%	190
18	Utah	$46,600	$47,940	$22	+1.5%	130
19	Idaho	$46,590	$48,250	$22	+1.4%	430
20	California	$46,450	$45,600	$22	+1.1%	1,630
21	Nebraska	$46,180	$43,410	$22	+0.5%	440
22	Vermont	$45,460	$40,990	$22	-1%	80
23	Indiana	$45,130	$43,370	$22	-1.7%	260
24	Kansas	$44,790	$44,550	$22	-2.5%	220
25	Arizona	$44,440	$43,010	$21	-3.2%	90
26	South Dakota	$44,340	$45,040	$21	-3.5%	120
27	Hawaii	$44,180	$45,390	$21	-3.8%	90
28	Arkansas	$43,630	$45,080	$21	-5%	580
29	North Carolina	$43,350	$35,980	$21	-5.6%	1,510
30	Missouri	$43,170	$43,460	$21	-6%	1,030
31	Connecticut	$43,050	$41,720	$21	-6.3%	60
32	Ohio	$42,000	$44,190	$20	-8.6%	910
33	Tennessee	$41,770	$39,130	$20	-9.1%	350
34	Illinois	$41,620	$38,230	$20	-9.4%	440
35	South Carolina	$41,310	$40,000	$20	-10.1%	140
36	Oklahoma	$40,890	$42,390	$20	-11%	370
37	Georgia	$40,080	$37,390	$19	-12.7%	290
38	New Jersey	$39,480	$37,140	$19	-14%	630
39	Louisiana	$38,760	$38,440	$19	-15.6%	80
40	Montana	$38,500	$35,360	$19	-16.2%	130
41	New Mexico	$37,860	$35,480	$18	-17.6%	70
42	Texas	$37,590	$37,140	$18	-18.2%	1,800
43	Mississippi	$36,550	$37,030	$18	-20.4%	60
44	Florida	$36,500	$35,340	$18	-20.5%	360

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 95 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$78,750	$64,890	120
2	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area	$66,110	$62,510	—
3	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$62,890	$62,180	310
4	Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	$62,080	$59,920	430
5	Modesto, CA	$61,130	$55,730	70
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$60,230	$59,610	280
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$60,170	$54,110	90
8	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$56,270	$54,610	100
9	Appleton, WI	$55,400	$55,210	70
10	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$54,950	$53,870	80

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenderss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Tobacco Manufacturing	$63,680	$61,480	910
2	Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing	$63,330	$61,320	960
3	Beverage Manufacturing	$63,150	$58,520	50
4	Grain and Oilseed Milling	$60,740	$57,420	650
5	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$57,530	$54,680	—
6	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$57,530	$54,680	—
7	Sector 55 - Management of Companies and Enterprises	$57,530	$54,680	—
8	Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing	$52,800	$57,520	230
9	Animal Food Manufacturing	$50,340	$52,040	240
10	Dairy Product Manufacturing	$49,370	$50,630	890
11	Food and Beverage Retailers	$48,970	$47,980	380
12	Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)	$48,970	$47,980	380

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

6,527

$10-20k

1,569

$20-30k

1,741

$30-40k

1,069

$40-50k

2,442

$50-60k

1,147

$60-70k

777

$70-80k

721

$80-90k

1,776

$90-100k

312

$100-110k

138

$140-150k

$150-160k

Pay by age band

16-24

$24,372

25-34

$36,246

35-44

$27,417

45-54

$35,357

55-64

$47,575

65+

$37,596

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$42,973

Associates Degree

$24,605

Bachelors Degree

$35,345

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$24,157

GED or alternative credential

$29,023

Some college, but less than 1 year

$32,677

No schooling completed

$33,911

12th grade - no diploma

$20,933

Grade 10

$319

Grade 8

$38,330

Grade 3

—

Masters Degree

$23,620

Grade 9

$50,976

Grade 11

$12,234

Grade 7

$46,898

Professional degree

—

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

11,722 · $47,787

Part-time

2,510 · $11,054

Race / ethnicity

White

$34,807

Two or More Races

$27,200

Black

$45,084

Asian

$2,456

Other

$39,807

American Indian

$40,781

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

—

Top fields of study

Music

$26,225

Philosophy And Religious Studies

$84,351

Mathematics

$53,015

Biology

$12,234

Theology And Religious Vocations

$24,146

Marketing And Marketing Research

$96,213

Biochemical Sciences

$20,390

Military Technologies

$14,579

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Operations Monitoring

3.6

Monitoring

3.5

Operation and Control

3.1

Critical Thinking

3.1

Reading Comprehension

3.1

Active Listening

3.1

Quality Control Analysis

3.1

Coordination

3.0

Speaking

3.0

Complex Problem Solving

3.0

Judgment and Decision Making

3.0

Social Perceptiveness

3.0

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders make in the U.S.?

The median food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders salary in the United States is $44,810 per year (mean $45,930), and about 80% earn between $33,250 and $62,680.

How much do food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders make per hour?

Roughly $22 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $45,930 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders the most?

North Dakota has the highest average pay for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders at $63,860 per year (median $77,300).

What is the job outlook for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders?

Employment is projected to change +0.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 2,400 openings per year.