Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders Salary
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX make a median of $32,180 a year, or about $15.47 an hour. The range runs from $25K at the entry level to $44K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.63), that's roughly $32,627 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,573/month, about 67.9% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $32K get you in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands’s Regional Price Parity (98.63). 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.
About food cooking machine operators and tenders
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What this looks like in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Pay for food cooking machine operators and tenders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands runs about 23% below the U.S. median of $42K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,573/month, which is 67.7% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.63) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for food cooking machine operators and tenderss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for food cooking machine operators and tenders in metros near Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $35K | $34K |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | $30K | $32K |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | $35K | $36K |
| El Paso | $36K | $40K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Entry-level food cooking machine operators and tenders (10th percentile) start around $25K. Mid-career wages sit at $32K. Top earners bring in $44K or more, a $19K spread from bottom to top.
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $51K | +23% | 310 |
| Utah | $49K | +17% | 390 |
| Massachusetts | $48K | +15% | 170 |
| Iowa | $48K | +15% | 850 |
| Michigan | $47K | +14% | 380 |
| Minnesota | $47K | +14% | 1,410 |
| Colorado | $47K | +13% | 300 |
| Kansas | $46K | +10% | 750 |
| New York | $46K | +10% | 1,300 |
| Tennessee | $46K | +10% | 1,820 |
| Nebraska | $45K | +9% | 670 |
| Idaho | $45K | +8% | 790 |
| California | $45K | +8% | 2,010 |
| Oregon | $45K | +7% | 570 |
| Louisiana | $44K | +7% | 550 |
| Arizona | $44K | +6% | 560 |
| Indiana | $43K | +4% | 540 |
| Pennsylvania | $43K | +3% | 1,580 |
| Illinois | $43K | +3% | 2,460 |
| Missouri | $42K | +1% | 620 |
| Kentucky | $42K | +1% | 300 |
| Ohio | $41K | -1% | 980 |
| Arkansas | $40K | -3% | 330 |
| New Hampshire | $40K | -3% | 110 |
| Wisconsin | $40K | -4% | 850 |
| South Dakota | $39K | -6% | 120 |
| North Carolina | $39K | -6% | 770 |
| Connecticut | $39K | -7% | 60 |
| Georgia | $38K | -8% | 690 |
| South Carolina | $38K | -8% | 520 |
| Maine | $38K | -10% | 170 |
| New Jersey | $37K | -11% | 430 |
| Maryland | $37K | -11% | N/A |
| Nevada | $37K | -12% | N/A |
| Florida | $36K | -12% | 970 |
| Oklahoma | $36K | -13% | 1,140 |
| Virginia | $35K | -16% | 510 |
| Texas | $34K | -18% | 3,180 |
| Delaware | $31K | -25% | N/A |
| Mississippi | $31K | -25% | 110 |
| Alabama | $27K | -35% | 250 |
Showing 1–10 of 41 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track food cooking machine operators and tenders salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a food cooking machine operators and tender afford a 2BR apartment alone in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $32K, rent takes 67.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,573/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for food cooking machine operators and tenders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new food cooking machine operators and tenders typically earn — is $25K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,492/month. At HUD’s $1,573/month FMR, rent would take 105% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is food cooking machine operators and tender a high-paying job in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Local pay runs 23% below the national median — $32K here vs. $42K nationally.
How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands compare to the national average for food cooking machine operators and tenders?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands pays $32K median vs. the U.S. average of $42K — that’s -23%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.63), the purchasing-power equivalent is $33K — below the national median.
How much do food cooking machine operators and tenders make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The median is $32,180 a year, that works out to about $15 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $24,870, and experienced food cooking machine operators and tenders can clear $43,660. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $32K enough to live in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,325/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,573/month, which eats 67.7% 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 food cooking machine operators and tenders salary go in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has a Regional Price Parity of 98.63 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median food cooking machine operators and tenders salary is worth about $32,627 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do food cooking machine 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.