Best states for a machine designer

Q: What is the best state for machine designers?

The best state to be a machine designer is Oregon based on machine designer salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for machine designers?

The highest paying state for machine designers is Arkansas based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for machine designers?

The worst state for machine designers is Montana, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Do you wonder which states in the U.S. are the best for machine designers? If so, we have the full list of best to worst states for machine designer jobs for you to check out and see if you think it's time to move and start anew. Not all states fare the same when it come to job opportunity and pay.This way, if you are newly entering the job market, or you are looking to change jobs, you know which places are the best for machine designer jobs.

To do that, we looked at the most recent data we have available for the following criteria -- average annual wages, and availability of jobs for machine designers.We found that the Midwest is best for machine designers, and the West is the worst. Santa Ana, CA is the best city in the country for machine designer jobs, where as Oregon is the best state in the country.

10 best states for machine designers in 2025

1. Oregon
Total machine designer jobs: 560
Average annual salary: $83,886
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $125,000
Location Quotient:
1.52
Machine designer jobs in Oregon
2. California
Total machine designer jobs: 4,112
Average annual salary: $88,249
Lowest 10 percent earn: $58,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $132,000
Location Quotient:
1.58
Machine designer jobs in California
3. Washington
Total machine designer jobs: 949
Average annual salary: $82,585
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $123,000
Location Quotient:
1.46
Machine designer jobs in Washington
4. Connecticut
Total machine designer jobs: 330
Average annual salary: $75,949
Lowest 10 percent earn: $53,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Location Quotient:
1.12
Machine designer jobs in Connecticut
5. Arizona
Total machine designer jobs: 462
Average annual salary: $74,692
Lowest 10 percent earn: $51,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Location Quotient:
0.89
Machine designer jobs in Arizona
6. Maryland
Total machine designer jobs: 430
Average annual salary: $83,405
Lowest 10 percent earn: $57,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $120,000
Location Quotient:
0.76
Machine designer jobs in Maryland
7. District of Columbia
Total machine designer jobs: 231
Average annual salary: $75,663
Lowest 10 percent earn: $52,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
1.54
Machine designer jobs in District of Columbia
8. Nevada
Total machine designer jobs: 102
Average annual salary: $78,567
Lowest 10 percent earn: $52,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $118,000
Location Quotient:
0.55
Machine designer jobs in Nevada
9. Delaware
Total machine designer jobs: 77
Average annual salary: $77,100
Lowest 10 percent earn: $53,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $111,000
Location Quotient:
0.69
Machine designer jobs in Delaware
10. Georgia
Total machine designer jobs: 1,171
Average annual salary: $67,940
Lowest 10 percent earn: $46,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $98,000
Location Quotient:
1.27
Machine designer jobs in Georgia

Machine designer jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a machine designer

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a machine designer

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Oregon	$83,886	$55,000	4,142,776	560
2	California	$88,249	$58,000	39,536,653	4,112
3	Washington	$82,585	$55,000	7,405,743	949
4	Connecticut	$75,949	$53,000	3,588,184	330
5	Arizona	$74,692	$51,000	7,016,270	462
6	Maryland	$83,405	$57,000	6,052,177	430
7	District of Columbia	$75,663	$52,000	693,972	231
8	Nevada	$78,567	$52,000	2,998,039	102
9	Delaware	$77,100	$53,000	961,939	77
10	Georgia	$67,940	$46,000	10,429,379	1,171
11	Massachusetts	$70,692	$50,000	6,859,819	863
12	Texas	$69,892	$47,000	28,304,596	1,517
13	Iowa	$68,845	$49,000	3,145,711	284
14	Indiana	$67,492	$48,000	6,666,818	521
15	New York	$69,821	$48,000	19,849,399	1,383
16	New Mexico	$75,280	$51,000	2,088,070	72
17	New Hampshire	$66,346	$48,000	1,342,795	185
18	Alabama	$67,848	$46,000	4,874,747	292
19	Michigan	$65,540	$46,000	9,962,311	675
20	West Virginia	$70,120	$48,000	1,815,857	54
21	Wisconsin	$62,339	$44,000	5,795,483	780
22	Illinois	$65,849	$47,000	12,802,023	1,116
23	Pennsylvania	$64,244	$44,000	12,805,537	982
24	Utah	$64,297	$43,000	3,101,833	318
25	Louisiana	$68,135	$45,000	4,684,333	122
26	Idaho	$66,443	$44,000	1,716,943	84
27	Virginia	$65,432	$44,000	8,470,020	782
28	South Carolina	$64,009	$43,000	5,024,369	315
29	Ohio	$60,810	$42,000	11,658,609	920
30	Rhode Island	$63,827	$45,000	1,059,639	88
31	New Jersey	$68,189	$47,000	9,005,644	454
32	Tennessee	$60,463	$42,000	6,715,984	460
33	North Carolina	$60,863	$41,000	10,273,419	871
34	Florida	$63,273	$40,000	20,984,400	1,059
35	Oklahoma	$61,881	$43,000	3,930,864	135
36	Colorado	$60,096	$43,000	5,607,154	460
37	Alaska	$61,553	$50,000	739,795	36
38	Kentucky	$58,013	$41,000	4,454,189	233
39	Missouri	$59,466	$42,000	6,113,532	365
40	Maine	$57,777	$42,000	1,335,907	87
41	Minnesota	$54,244	$39,000	5,576,606	651
42	Vermont	$55,279	$40,000	623,657	54
43	Mississippi	$57,371	$39,000	2,984,100	98
44	South Dakota	$54,024	$39,000	869,666	68
45	Wyoming	$56,167	$40,000	579,315	20
46	Kansas	$51,594	$37,000	2,913,123	205
47	Hawaii	$57,026	$44,000	1,427,538	20
48	Arkansas	$49,746	$35,000	3,004,279	168
49	North Dakota	$51,975	$38,000	755,393	47
50	Nebraska	$51,525	$37,000	1,920,076	132
51	Montana	$51,899	$37,000	1,050,493	53

Highest paying states for machine designers

Rank	State	Avg. Machine Designer Salary
1	Oregon	$83,886
2	California	$88,249
3	Washington	$82,585
4	Connecticut	$75,949
5	Arizona	$74,692
6	Maryland	$83,405
7	District of Columbia	$75,663
8	Nevada	$78,567
9	Delaware	$77,100
10	Georgia	$67,940
11	Massachusetts	$70,692
12	Texas	$69,892
13	Iowa	$68,845
14	Indiana	$67,492
15	New York	$69,821
16	New Mexico	$75,280
17	New Hampshire	$66,346
18	Alabama	$67,848
19	Michigan	$65,540
20	West Virginia	$70,120
21	Wisconsin	$62,339
22	Illinois	$65,849
23	Pennsylvania	$64,244
24	Utah	$64,297
25	Louisiana	$68,135
26	Idaho	$66,443
27	Virginia	$65,432
28	South Carolina	$64,009
29	Ohio	$60,810
30	Rhode Island	$63,827
31	New Jersey	$68,189
32	Tennessee	$60,463
33	North Carolina	$60,863
34	Florida	$63,273
35	Oklahoma	$61,881
36	Colorado	$60,096
37	Alaska	$61,553
38	Kentucky	$58,013
39	Missouri	$59,466
40	Maine	$57,777
41	Minnesota	$54,244
42	Vermont	$55,279
43	Mississippi	$57,371
44	South Dakota	$54,024
45	Wyoming	$56,167
46	Kansas	$51,594
47	Hawaii	$57,026
48	Arkansas	$49,746
49	North Dakota	$51,975
50	Nebraska	$51,525
51	Montana	$51,899

Machine designer best states FAQs

What is the best state for machine designers?

What is the highest paying state for machine designers?

What is the worst state for machine designers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

Search for machine designer jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse architecture and engineering jobs

Total machine designer jobs:	560
Average annual salary:	$83,886
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$55,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$125,000
Location Quotient:	1.52

Best states for a machine designer

10 best states for machine designers in 2025

1. Oregon

2. California

3. Washington

4. Connecticut

5. Arizona

6. Maryland

7. District of Columbia

8. Nevada

9. Delaware

10. Georgia