BLS metro-level wage data places Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders pay in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD at a median of $51,600 per year ($24.81/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $41,590, Sioux City pays +24% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 190 food cooking machine operators and tenderss are employed across the Sioux City MSA in SOC 51-3093.

The Sioux City pay distribution spans from $39,270 at the 10th percentile to $57,390 at the 90th — a 1.5× spread that reflects experience tenure, specialization, employer size, and the difference between public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector compensation inside the metro. The 25th percentile sits at $47,980 and the 75th at $52,960, so half of Sioux City-based food cooking machine operators and tenderss earn within that middle band.

Metro figures capture where you actually work, not just where you live — which matters for commuters. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Sioux City, IA-NE-SD covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. Remember that OEWS wages reflect base pay only: employer-provided health insurance, retirement matches, stock options, signing bonuses, overtime, and tips are excluded and can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Before using this metro median as a negotiation anchor, triangulate against the same occupation's national profile (linked below), its state-wide IA data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.