Where is it easiest to open: Other Animal Food Manufacturing
35 states, side by side. Operator counts and wages from Census and BLS; licence records matched on “SOC 51-9111” (soc) for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders. A blank gate means NO RECORD MATCHED, which is not the same as no licence.
| State | Operators | Avg staff | Pay / employee | Gate | Licence titles matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 74 | 26.9 | $88,007 | not matched | — |
| PA | 41 | 27.0 | $54,209 | not matched | — |
| WI | 40 | 39.8 | $52,855 | not matched | — |
| IA | 40 | 25.0 | $75,579 | not matched | — |
| TX | 34 | 20.0 | $59,784 | not matched | — |
| MN | 33 | 32.5 | $72,566 | not matched | — |
| NE | 21 | 18.1 | $60,887 | not matched | — |
| IN | 18 | 21.5 | $65,194 | not matched | — |
| MO | 17 | 49.8 | $51,885 | not matched | — |
| IL | 16 | 45.7 | $82,335 | not matched | — |
| UT | 14 | 16.6 | $45,567 | not matched | — |
| OH | 13 | 21.7 | $72,918 | not matched | — |
| CO | 13 | 19.7 | $169,703 | not matched | — |
| FL | 13 | 17.8 | $55,043 | not matched | — |
| NY | 13 | 25.0 | $75,440 | not matched | — |
| GA | 11 | 29.9 | $65,450 | not matched | — |
| AZ | 11 | 11.4 | $74,984 | not matched | — |
| NC | 11 | 22.7 | $65,268 | licence | Bottler |
| KS | 11 | 14.1 | $57,910 | not matched | — |
| WA | 10 | 14.9 | $69,195 | not matched | — |
| ID | 10 | 32.8 | $73,332 | not matched | — |
| SD | 10 | 22.3 | $74,166 | not matched | — |
| MI | 10 | 10.6 | $58,632 | not matched | — |
| AL | 8 | 37.1 | $60,448 | not matched | — |
| OK | 8 | 19.4 | $51,542 | not matched | — |
| AR | 7 | 25.0 | $65,771 | not matched | — |
| VT | 6 | 24.8 | $63,933 | not matched | — |
| NM | 5 | 19.8 | $64,273 | not matched | — |
| MD | 3 | 17.3 | $52,923 | not matched | — |
| OR | 3 | 9.0 | $69,444 | not matched | — |
| VA | 3 | 22.3 | $54,149 | not matched | — |
| DE | 3 | 42.3 | $48,016 | not matched | — |
| KY | 3 | 34.7 | $74,760 | not matched | — |
| MS | 3 | 26.3 | $70,696 | not matched | — |
| TN | 3 | 20.3 | $58,689 | not matched | — |
Axes are shown side by side and deliberately NOT collapsed into a ranking. A composite would be a score with no measured interval, and an unmeasured score is the thing this product exists to argue against. A high licence gate is a cost to enter and a moat once cleared — which of those matters more is the operator's call, not ours.
Licence data courtesy of CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Free to read, no account, always — a condition of the data licence as well as our own position.