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Abstract Background While near surface residual stress (NSRS) from milling is a driver for distortion in aluminum parts there are few studies that directly compare available techniques for NSRS measurement. Objective We report application and assessment of four different techniques for evaluating residual stress versus depth in milled aluminum parts. Methods The four techniques are: hole-drilling, slotting, cos(α) x-ray diffraction (XRD), and sin 2 (ψ) XRD, all including incremental material removal to produce a stress versus depth profile. The milled aluminum parts are cut from stress-relieved plate, AA7050-T7451, with a range of table and tool speeds used to mill a large flat surface in several samples. NSRS measurements are made at specified locations on each sample. Results Resulting data show that NSRS from three techniques are in general agreement: hole-drilling, slotting, and sin 2 (ψ) XRD. At shallow depths (< 0.03 mm), sin 2 (ψ) XRD data have the best repeatability (< 15 MPa), but at larger depths (> 0.04 mm) hole-drilling and slotting have the best repeatability (< 10 MPa). NSRS data from cos(α) XRD differ from data provided by other techniques and the data are less repeatable. NSRS data for different milling parameters show that the depth of NSRS increases with feed per tooth and is unaffected by cutting speed. Conclusion Hole-drilling, slotting, and sin 2 (ψ) XRD provided comparable results when assessing milling-induced near surface residual stress in aluminum. Combining a simple distortion test, comprising removal of a 1 mm thick wafer at the milled surface, with a companion stress analysis showed that NSRS data from hole-drilling are most consistent with milling-induced distortion.