Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Salary
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Bellingham, WA make a median of $53,690 a year, or about $25.81 an hour. The range runs from $42K at the entry level to $83K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 103.33), that's roughly $51,960 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,794/month, about 48.1% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $54K get you in Bellingham?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Bellingham’s Regional Price Parity (103.33). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
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What this looks like in Bellingham
Bellingham sits well above the national pay line for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders, local pay runs about 11% higher than the U.S. median of $48K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,794/month, which is 47.6% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 103.33) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders in metros near Bellingham, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | $63K | $57K |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley | $47K | $47K |
| Yakima | $46K | $48K |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes | $61K | $59K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Bellingham, WA
Entry-level coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders (10th percentile) start around $42K. Mid-career wages sit at $54K. Top earners bring in $83K or more, a $41K spread from bottom to top.
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $70K | +45% | 140 |
| Washington | $60K | +24% | 3,980 |
| New Jersey | $58K | +21% | 2,890 |
| Maine | $56K | +16% | 680 |
| Maryland | $56K | +15% | 1,010 |
| Colorado | $54K | +11% | 1,470 |
| Mississippi | $53K | +10% | 2,010 |
| California | $53K | +10% | 11,570 |
| Connecticut | $53K | +10% | 1,550 |
| Minnesota | $52K | +8% | 3,430 |
| Hawaii | $52K | +8% | 230 |
| Massachusetts | $51K | +6% | 2,740 |
| North Dakota | $51K | +6% | 560 |
| Wyoming | $50K | +4% | 220 |
| Virginia | $50K | +3% | 4,130 |
| Rhode Island | $50K | +3% | 470 |
| Oregon | $49K | +2% | 2,470 |
| Vermont | $49K | +2% | 170 |
| Nebraska | $49K | +2% | 740 |
| Iowa | $49K | +2% | 3,220 |
| Wisconsin | $49K | +2% | 6,120 |
| Ohio | $49K | +1% | 8,320 |
| New Hampshire | $48K | +0% | 430 |
| Pennsylvania | $48K | +0% | 6,790 |
| South Carolina | $48K | -0% | 2,780 |
| Illinois | $48K | -1% | 6,390 |
| New York | $48K | -1% | 3,270 |
| South Dakota | $48K | -1% | 1,150 |
| Louisiana | $48K | -1% | 810 |
| Utah | $48K | -1% | 1,740 |
| Florida | $48K | -1% | 6,200 |
| Arizona | $48K | -1% | 2,440 |
| Missouri | $48K | -1% | 3,860 |
| Montana | $47K | -2% | 330 |
| Indiana | $47K | -2% | 8,030 |
| Tennessee | $47K | -2% | 3,880 |
| Kentucky | $47K | -2% | 2,190 |
| Kansas | $47K | -2% | 3,160 |
| Texas | $47K | -3% | 16,600 |
| North Carolina | $47K | -3% | 5,700 |
| Georgia | $46K | -4% | 5,900 |
| Arkansas | $46K | -4% | 1,870 |
| Delaware | $46K | -4% | 100 |
| Idaho | $46K | -5% | 760 |
| Oklahoma | $46K | -5% | 2,520 |
| Nevada | $46K | -5% | 640 |
| New Mexico | $46K | -5% | 400 |
| Michigan | $45K | -7% | 7,050 |
| Alabama | $44K | -8% | 5,250 |
| West Virginia | $43K | -11% | 370 |
Showing 1–10 of 50 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders salary changes
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Frequently asked questions
Can a coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tender afford a 2BR apartment alone in Bellingham?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $54K, rent takes 47.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,794/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders in Bellingham?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders typically earn — is $42K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,528/month. At HUD’s $1,794/month FMR, rent would take 71% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tender a high-paying job in Bellingham?
Local pay is 11% above the national median — $54K here vs. $48K nationally.
How does Bellingham compare to the national average for coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders?
Bellingham pays $54K median vs. the U.S. average of $48K — that’s +11%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 103.33), the purchasing-power equivalent is $52K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders make in Bellingham, WA?
The median is $53,690 a year, that works out to about $26 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $42,130, and experienced coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders can clear $83,340. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $54K enough to live in Bellingham?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,765/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,794/month, which eats 47.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders salary go in Bellingham?
Bellingham has a Regional Price Parity of 103.33 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders salary is worth about $51,960 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.