Home / Agricultural Equipment Operators / Best Cities Best Cities for Agricultural Equipment Operatorss Cities ranked by purchasing power — where agricultural equipment operatorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.
How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.
# Location Score Raw Salary Adjusted Salary Rent/Income 1 Louisiana State 1.56 $58,520 $64,950 21% 2 Montana State 1.46 $58,770 $60,965 23% 3 Columbus, OH Metro 1.31 $51,050 $54,599 30% 4 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro 1.29 $53,680 $53,950 33% 5 Iowa State 1.27 $47,220 $52,937 24% 6 South Dakota State 1.27 $48,060 $52,930 24% 7 Missouri State 1.26 $46,490 $52,472 27% 8 Ohio State 1.25 $47,220 $52,235 27% 9 North Dakota State 1.24 $48,080 $51,922 24% 10 Indiana State 1.23 $46,280 $51,138 27% 11 Kansas City, MO-KS Metro 1.23 $47,610 $51,304 32% 12 Nebraska State 1.22 $46,670 $51,005 27% 13 Wisconsin State 1.22 $47,100 $51,029 28% 14 Kansas State 1.21 $45,570 $50,633 27% 15 Minnesota State 1.19 $48,520 $49,510 32% 16 Delaware State 1.18 $49,910 $49,416 33% 17 Pennsylvania State 1.16 $47,100 $48,557 33% 18 Kentucky State 1.14 $42,000 $47,458 27% 19 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro 1.14 $49,220 $47,556 39% 20 Illinois State 1.13 $46,050 $47,279 34% 21 Maine State 1.12 $46,490 $46,583 33% 22 Virginia State 1.11 $47,890 $46,271 39% 23 Michigan State 1.10 $42,380 $45,915 32% 24 Massachusetts State 1.09 $49,150 $45,300 55% 25 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro 1.09 $44,090 $45,548 44% 26 New York State 1.07 $50,020 $44,462 44% 27 Mississippi State 1.03 $36,460 $42,995 29% 28 Oregon State 1.03 $44,150 $42,864 43% 29 North Carolina State 1.00 $39,580 $41,928 39% 30 Tennessee State 0.99 $37,750 $41,257 40% 31 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro 0.98 $44,150 $40,955 49% 32 Idaho State 0.97 $38,920 $40,332 37% 33 Oklahoma State 0.95 $34,900 $39,435 33% 34 Alabama State 0.93 $33,910 $38,932 34% 35 New Mexico State 0.93 $35,580 $38,674 35% 36 New Jersey State 0.92 $41,660 $38,290 52% 37 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro 0.92 $36,890 $38,507 49% 38 Georgia State 0.91 $35,410 $37,912 48% 39 South Carolina State 0.90 $34,490 $37,489 44% 40 Arkansas State 0.89 $32,060 $37,149 33% 41 Arizona State 0.87 $36,600 $36,274 49% 42 Florida State 0.87 $36,660 $36,118 56% 43 Maryland State 0.87 $39,580 $36,245 51% 44 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro 0.87 $38,400 $36,295 52% 45 Texas State 0.86 $34,260 $35,837 49% 46 Washington State 0.86 $38,470 $35,853 59% 47 Colorado State 0.85 $37,290 $35,380 59% 48 California State 0.84 $38,820 $35,068 70% 49 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro 0.81 $36,610 $33,742 67%
Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).