Highest Paying States for Paper Good Machine Setter (2026)
This page looks at highest paying states for Paper Good Machine Setter through Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest official BLS wage baseline. It shows which states lead on pay, how big the gap is after the top spot, and where job opportunities are most concentrated.
In practice, Louisiana currently leads at $66,698.0/year, while Oklahoma gives you a useful second benchmark at $65,698.0. That makes it easier to judge whether the leader is far ahead or part of a tighter upper tier.
📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Paper Good Machine Setter · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Louisiana
$66.7K est.
2
Oklahoma
$65.7K est.
3
Utah
$62.9K est.
4
Wisconsin
$61.5K est.
5
Oregon
$60.7K est.
#1 State
Louisiana
$66.7K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
State
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
930
employment estimate
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Highest Paying States for Paper Good Machine Setter: Full Ranking
If you're comparing the best states for paper good machine setter, Louisiana sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $66,698.0 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Oklahoma at $65,698.0, which helps show whether the pay curve drops quickly or stays fairly tight after the leader. On entry-level pages, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy for starting pay, because the public source data does not offer a clean entry-level field for every role.
1
Louisiana
930 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$66,698.0
official baseline $66.7K
2
Oklahoma
1,440 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$65,698.0
official baseline $65.7K
3
Utah
920 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$62,879.0
official baseline $62.9K
4
Wisconsin
6,930 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$61,453.0
official baseline $61.5K
5
Oregon
890 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$60,655.0
official baseline $60.7K
6
Illinois
5,720 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$60,496.0
official baseline $60.5K
7
Idaho
500 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$59,900.0
official baseline $59.9K
8
Washington
2,500 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$59,836.0
official baseline $59.8K
9
Minnesota
1,950 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$59,357.0
official baseline $59.4K
10
Kentucky
2,310 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$57,080.0
official baseline $57.1K
11
New York
3,390 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$55,176.0
official baseline $55.2K
12
South Carolina
3,650 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$55,027.0
official baseline $55.0K
What Paper Good Machine Setter Do
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Paper Good Machine Setter salary markets are easier to compare when the underlying role is clear.
This role combines strong pay potential with a specific preparation path and day-to-day work profile.
Paper Good Machine Setter Salary Trend
This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind paper good machine setter is easier to read from the national salary trend. That helps show whether the role is sitting on a stable long-run wage climb or just posting a short-term local spike.
Careerclev's current 2026 estimate applies an annual modeled growth rate of -1.5% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$40.7KEstimated
$39.8K
2020
$44.8K
2021
$45.7K
2022
$47.3K
2023
$42.0K
2024
$41.4K
2025*
$40.7K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 2.3%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($42.0K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.
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Entry-Level Pay Signals
A high median salary only tells half the story. What matters for career planning is where starting pay actually lands. Because BLS does not publish a clean entry-level label for every role, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy. Louisiana shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $53,910.0, compared with a long-run median of $66,698.0. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.
Job
Entry Proxy
Median Salary
Prep Path
Typical Education
Louisiana
$53,910.0
$66,698.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Oklahoma
$49,292.0
$65,698.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Utah
$48,633.0
$62,879.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Wisconsin
$51,473.0
$61,453.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Oregon
$52,261.0
$60,655.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Illinois
$49,197.0
$60,496.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Idaho
$52,527.0
$59,900.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Washington
$51,622.0
$59,836.0
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Jobs With Strong Demand
Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Paper Good Machine Setter, Wisconsin combines a salary of $61,453.0 with roughly 6,930 employed workers, which makes it one of the more accessible high-pay options on this list. By contrast, some specialties rank higher on salary but operate as narrower niches where openings are harder to find and entry paths are longer.
Very Deep Market
Wisconsin
$61,453.0
6,930 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
Illinois
$60,496.0
5,720 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
South Carolina
$55,027.0
3,650 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
New York
$55,176.0
3,390 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Washington
$59,836.0
2,500 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Kentucky
$57,080.0
2,310 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Salary vs Employment
The highest-paying job is not always the largest market, and that distinction changes the practical calculus. Louisiana leads on salary at $66,698.0, while Wisconsin supports roughly 6,930 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
LouisianaSOC 51-9196
$66.7K
930
OklahomaSOC 51-9196
$65.7K
1,440
UtahSOC 51-9196
$62.9K
920
WisconsinSOC 51-9196
$61.5K
6,930
OregonSOC 51-9196
$60.7K
890
IllinoisSOC 51-9196
$60.5K
5,720
IdahoSOC 51-9196
$59.9K
500
WashingtonSOC 51-9196
$59.8K
2,500
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Paper Good Machine Setter, the gap between Louisiana at $66,698.0 and the early-pay signal from Louisiana at $53,910.0 shows why access, market size, and training timelines belong in the same conversation as the headline number. That is where this page becomes more useful than a simple ranking list.
1
Match salary to access realistically
A high median means little if there are only a handful of openings per year. Check the employment estimate alongside the salary. A role with 6,930 workers in Paper Good Machine Setter is fundamentally easier to enter than one with a few hundred.
2
Factor in education and licensure timelines
Some of the highest-paying roles on this list sit in prep bands such as Varies and often pair that with expectations like education path varies by employer. Build that timeline into your planning before targeting the salary ceiling.
3
Separate entry pay from long-run upside
The entry proxy column in this guide gives you an early-career anchor. A role that starts at $53,910.0 and scales to $66,698.0 offers a very different career arc than one that starts and peaks near the same figure.
4
Check the work before chasing the pay
Compare the day-to-day work with the training path before you commit. A role can rank highly on pay and still be a poor fit if the work itself does not match the kind of problems, environment, or responsibilities you want.
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Related High-Pay Pages
These related pages are the most useful next steps from this ranking. They keep the same high-pay context for Paper Good Machine Setter, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as South Carolina and Idaho. If this page answers the pay question but not the career question, start here.
High-pay rankings are most useful when you read them alongside the core salary guide, the career entry path, and a few nearby role comparisons. That turns this page from a ranking into a better decision route for paper good machine setter.
These questions cover the practical parts of the ranking: how entry pay is estimated, why wage fields sometimes differ by source, and how to compare the top salary with the real size of the job market.
Which state pays the most for Paper Good Machine Setter?▼
Louisiana currently leads this paper good machine setter ranking at $66,698.0 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline.
Is the entry-level pay data directly from BLS?▼
Not exactly. BLS publishes wage percentiles rather than experience-level labels, so Careerclev uses the 25th percentile (or the low-end wage where available) as an entry-pay proxy. It is a transparent approximation, not a direct label.
Which state pays the most for Paper Good Machine Setter?▼
Louisiana currently leads this paper good machine setter pay ranking at $66,698.0 per year, with an employment estimate of 930. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does Paper Good Machine Setter usually require?▼
Paper Good Machine Setter is currently tagged as varies in the O*NET prep model. The most common education signal is education path varies by employer, while the training path is described as training path varies.
Does the top-paying market also have the deepest employment base?▼
Not always. Wisconsin may support a deeper employment base than the #1 salary market, which can make them more practical despite a lower pay ceiling.
How should I compare salary with accessibility?▼
Use the ranking salary, entry-pay proxy, employment estimate, and preparation path together. The best target is usually the role that balances strong pay with a realistic path in.
Can a lower-ranked job be a better target than Louisiana?▼
Yes. A lower-ranked role can be the better choice if it has a shorter prep path, stronger entry pay, more openings, or a work profile that fits you better than Louisiana.
Why do some high-paying roles look hard to enter?▼
Many top-paying roles sit behind longer training, licensing, or related-experience requirements. That is why Careerclev shows preparation signals next to salary instead of treating all high-paying jobs as equally accessible.
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Data Sources & MethodologyRankings use Careerclev salary facts built from BLS OEWS wage data and extended through Careerclev's current salary projection model where applicable. National pages use U.S. aggregate data, state pages use state-level data, and city pages use the BLS metro dataset behind the largest-city public label. Category labels are derived from BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) major group codes, while prep-path notes come from imported O*NET job-zone and career requirement data where available.