Where is it easiest to open: Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
31 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 | 197 | 88.5 | $60,351 | not matched | — |
| NY | 57 | 33.4 | $48,602 | not matched | — |
| TX | 54 | 88.7 | $49,458 | not matched | — |
| FL | 34 | 25.3 | $45,491 | not matched | — |
| IL | 31 | 77.4 | $53,359 | not matched | — |
| NJ | 27 | 47.2 | $48,753 | not matched | — |
| PA | 26 | 42.5 | $52,681 | not matched | — |
| CO | 22 | 53.7 | $54,435 | not matched | — |
| HI | 21 | 30.7 | $39,793 | not matched | — |
| OR | 20 | 60.2 | $50,401 | not matched | — |
| NV | 18 | 66.0 | $32,097 | not matched | — |
| WA | 18 | 62.2 | $48,612 | not matched | — |
| MI | 16 | 17.4 | $28,509 | not matched | — |
| MA | 15 | 157.7 | $63,411 | not matched | — |
| AZ | 14 | 245.8 | $38,108 | not matched | — |
| OH | 13 | 146.3 | $35,711 | not matched | — |
| MN | 13 | 126.9 | $54,235 | not matched | — |
| UT | 9 | 26.7 | $31,875 | not matched | — |
| GA | 8 | 3.0 | $23,833 | not matched | — |
| WI | 7 | 53.4 | $57,414 | not matched | — |
| VA | 7 | 102.7 | $78,157 | not matched | — |
| RI | 6 | 57.7 | $50,754 | not matched | — |
| ME | 5 | 2.6 | $24,615 | not matched | — |
| KY | 5 | 74.6 | $37,019 | not matched | — |
| KS | 4 | 325.0 | $47,115 | not matched | — |
| DC | 4 | 18.5 | $28,622 | not matched | — |
| CT | 4 | 29.2 | $237,641 | not matched | — |
| ID | 3 | 4.7 | $95,214 | not matched | — |
| MD | 3 | 42.3 | $78,126 | not matched | — |
| TN | 3 | 53.3 | $33,100 | not matched | — |
| NC | 3 | 107.3 | $43,733 | licence | Bottler |
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.