Highest-paying Cities for Chemical Plant and System Operators

The top 100 highest paying cities for chemical plant and system operators (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of chemical plant and system operators in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $105,760, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for chemical plant and system operators. It is followed by Lima, Ohio (average annual salary $101,210). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of chemical plant and system operators in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Chemical Plant and System Operators

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$105,760	$85,900	160
2	Lima, Ohio	$101,210	$58,620	90
3	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$101,000	$76,360	4,810
4	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$100,550	$38,490	310
5	Corpus Christi, Texas	$99,070	$77,770	300
6	Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$97,080	$61,530	140
7	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$96,150	$65,390	1,550
8	Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$92,570	$47,480	120
9	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$91,300	$67,270	30
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$88,940	$72,800	110
11	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$88,730	$69,380	70
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$86,800	$66,420	110
13	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$83,650	$65,800	100
14	Southwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$82,090	$69,800	280
15	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$81,910	$53,210	840
16	Mobile, Alabama	$78,850	$67,300	570
17	Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$78,580	$55,350	60
18	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$78,140	$51,140	90
19	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$77,280	$56,790	90
20	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$76,670	$47,740	430
21	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$76,330	$47,800	90
22	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$74,600	$36,020	270
23	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$74,550	$38,140	1,130
24	Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$74,350	$36,590	70
25	Knoxville, Tennessee	$73,330	$46,630	30
26	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$73,230	$43,500	40
27	West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, Kentucky	$72,850	$27,270	n/a
28	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$72,720	$50,860	520
29	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$72,190	$40,970	70
30	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$70,960	$54,820	80
31	St Louis, Missouri	$70,710	$43,080	540
32	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$70,640	$52,150	150
33	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$70,370	$36,250	n/a
34	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$69,910	$36,370	n/a
35	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$69,590	$59,060	60
36	Decatur, Alabama	$69,280	$46,630	80
37	Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$69,100	$41,140	80
38	Stockton, California	$69,050	$37,330	n/a
39	Victoria, Texas	$69,030	$47,960	630
40	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$68,750	$43,310	90
41	Wilmington, New Jersey	$68,480	$37,460	80
42	Midland, Michigan	$68,380	$27,690	n/a
43	Gary, Indiana	$68,260	$42,610	180
44	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$67,520	$35,450	80
45	Kansas City, Missouri	$67,470	$52,920	n/a
46	Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area, Iowa	$67,170	$42,530	n/a
47	Toledo, Ohio	$66,750	$45,950	90
48	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida	$66,510	$27,680	150
49	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$65,870	$41,590	50
50	Boulder, Colorado	$64,330	$50,600	200
51	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$64,200	$36,170	360
52	Northwestern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$64,050	$41,340	30
53	Madison, Wisconsin	$63,940	$45,680	60
54	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$63,470	$48,260	210
55	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$63,350	$39,800	70
56	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$63,270	$56,530	90
57	Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area, Alabama	$63,230	$48,570	270
58	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$62,860	$40,660	n/a
59	West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area, North Dakota	$62,810	$35,220	150
60	Cleveland, Tennessee	$62,770	$40,530	230
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$62,090	$32,650	500
62	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$61,740	$29,220	70
63	Savannah, Georgia	$61,530	$45,940	60
64	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$61,330	$28,150	30
65	Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$61,150	$48,650	60
66	Worcester, Massachusetts	$61,150	$48,480	40
67	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$61,150	$37,870	80
68	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$61,150	$48,690	190
69	Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia	$60,810	$42,020	30
70	Middle Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$60,660	$43,540	50
71	Northwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$60,590	$36,730	60
72	Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$60,520	$38,340	100
73	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$60,510	$47,060	260
74	Salt Lake City, Utah	$59,900	$35,700	70
75	Upper Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area, South Carolina	$59,550	$22,910	240
76	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$59,040	$46,080	70
77	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$58,980	$50,400	150
78	Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida	$58,900	$50,810	180
79	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$58,880	$38,320	350
80	Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi	$58,670	$53,120	100
81	Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area, Iowa	$58,350	$48,950	90
82	Lafayette, Louisiana	$58,350	$42,820	n/a
83	Midland, Texas	$58,020	$42,550	40
84	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$57,790	$43,840	n/a
85	Akron, Ohio	$57,770	$47,130	80
86	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$57,410	$40,350	50
87	North Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$57,360	$36,930	70
88	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$56,940	$50,120	110
89	Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$56,780	$50,240	150
90	Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia	$56,700	$49,620	670
91	Janesville, Wisconsin	$56,200	$41,320	60
92	Columbus, Ohio	$56,020	$42,990	n/a
93	Northeast Florida nonmetropolitan area, Florida	$55,860	$45,870	30
94	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$55,780	$31,630	110
95	Dayton, Ohio	$55,780	$50,220	70
96	Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$55,480	$41,070	70
97	New Iberia nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$54,990	$40,490	n/a
98	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$54,920	$37,790	130
99	Richmond, Virginia	$54,910	$36,600	150
100	Gulf Coast Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$54,850	$34,220	110

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for chemical plant and system operators.