Best Cities for Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where automotive and watercraft service attendantss 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	MissouriState	1.21	$38,130	$43,036	33%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.16	$41,690	$41,483	43%
3	ArkansasState	1.13	$34,750	$40,267	30%
4	MontanaState	1.13	$38,700	$40,145	35%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.13	$37,360	$40,259	41%
6	AlaskaState	1.12	$41,590	$39,875	39%
7	HawaiiState	1.11	$43,630	$39,664	66%
8	IndianaState	1.11	$35,700	$39,448	35%
9	North DakotaState	1.11	$36,740	$39,676	32%
10	South DakotaState	1.11	$36,050	$39,703	32%
11	WisconsinState	1.11	$36,550	$39,599	36%
12	KansasState	1.10	$35,440	$39,378	35%
13	South CarolinaState	1.10	$36,000	$39,130	42%
14	WyomingState	1.10	$36,640	$39,398	32%
15	OhioState	1.09	$34,990	$38,706	36%
16	ConnecticutState	1.08	$41,600	$38,662	45%
17	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$35,550	$38,432	40%
18	MinnesotaState	1.07	$37,470	$38,235	41%
19	NebraskaState	1.07	$34,940	$38,186	36%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$37,880	$38,070	47%
21	CaliforniaState	1.06	$41,770	$37,733	65%
22	New HampshireState	1.06	$40,030	$37,764	48%
23	VermontState	1.06	$38,700	$37,756	44%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$35,490	$37,957	44%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$43,300	$37,883	61%
26	NevadaState	1.05	$37,550	$37,475	46%
27	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.05	$45,020	$37,454	84%
28	IllinoisState	1.04	$36,010	$36,971	44%
29	UtahState	1.04	$37,000	$36,926	48%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$35,560	$36,965	53%
31	IdahoState	1.03	$35,560	$36,850	40%
32	WashingtonState	1.03	$39,440	$36,757	58%
33	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$35,080	$36,618	51%
34	ColoradoState	1.02	$38,370	$36,404	58%
35	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$41,750	$36,527	60%
36	MississippiState	1.02	$30,810	$36,333	35%
37	DelawareState	1.01	$36,530	$36,168	45%
38	OklahomaState	1.01	$31,760	$35,887	37%
39	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$37,950	$35,870	53%
40	ArizonaState	1.00	$35,840	$35,520	50%
41	North CarolinaState	1.00	$33,680	$35,678	46%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$34,800	$35,802	55%
43	KentuckyState	0.99	$31,410	$35,492	37%
44	TexasState	0.99	$33,670	$35,220	49%
45	TennesseeState	0.98	$31,970	$34,940	47%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$32,290	$35,098	48%
47	IowaState	0.97	$30,810	$34,540	37%
48	FloridaState	0.96	$34,860	$34,345	59%
49	MarylandState	0.96	$37,580	$34,414	54%
50	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$31,270	$34,287	47%
51	MichiganState	0.95	$31,280	$33,889	43%
52	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$36,420	$33,785	59%
53	AlabamaState	0.94	$29,180	$33,502	39%
54	New MexicoState	0.94	$30,880	$33,565	41%
55	West VirginiaState	0.94	$28,260	$33,563	36%
56	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.94	$39,070	$33,536	70%
57	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$34,880	$33,700	55%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$33,090	$33,594	62%
59	GeorgiaState	0.93	$30,950	$33,137	55%
60	New YorkState	0.93	$37,180	$33,049	60%
61	OregonState	0.93	$34,280	$33,282	56%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$35,950	$33,134	68%
63	MassachusettsState	0.92	$35,680	$32,885	76%
64	LouisianaState	0.91	$29,150	$32,353	43%
65	MaineState	0.91	$32,310	$32,375	48%
66	New JerseyState	0.91	$35,350	$32,491	61%
67	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$31,550	$32,526	49%
68	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.91	$36,740	$32,370	83%
69	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$31,040	$32,066	62%
70	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$35,690	$31,640	67%
71	VirginiaState	0.82	$30,350	$29,324	62%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).