Where is it easiest to open: All Other Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing
29 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 | 102 | 19.3 | $69,323 | not matched | — |
| FL | 38 | 15.3 | $47,605 | not matched | — |
| NY | 30 | 19.8 | $63,103 | not matched | — |
| IL | 30 | 39.5 | $60,455 | not matched | — |
| TX | 27 | 8.8 | $52,840 | not matched | — |
| NJ | 26 | 22.0 | $73,886 | not matched | — |
| MI | 23 | 78.4 | $50,545 | not matched | — |
| UT | 20 | 24.2 | $56,694 | not matched | — |
| PA | 19 | 13.6 | $49,016 | not matched | — |
| OR | 10 | 17.4 | $47,379 | not matched | — |
| MN | 9 | 9.2 | $73,940 | not matched | — |
| CO | 9 | 16.3 | $43,204 | not matched | — |
| IA | 9 | 73.3 | $70,533 | not matched | — |
| TN | 8 | 63.5 | $63,581 | not matched | — |
| VT | 6 | 20.0 | $51,767 | not matched | — |
| WA | 6 | 17.7 | $52,245 | not matched | — |
| NC | 6 | 11.3 | $57,706 | licence | Bottler |
| DE | 5 | 41.0 | $119,605 | not matched | — |
| MA | 4 | 23.0 | $66,511 | not matched | — |
| LA | 4 | 15.5 | $31,565 | not matched | — |
| NV | 4 | 31.5 | $49,516 | not matched | — |
| WI | 3 | 108.3 | $127,720 | not matched | — |
| MO | 3 | 22.7 | $65,250 | not matched | — |
| KY | 3 | 17.7 | $69,094 | not matched | — |
| IN | 3 | 17.7 | $48,774 | not matched | — |
| HI | 3 | 4.3 | $30,000 | not matched | — |
| GA | 3 | 1.0 | $16,333 | not matched | — |
| SC | 3 | 89.3 | $43,616 | not matched | — |
| CT | 3 | 2.3 | $134,429 | 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.