Best Cities for Automotive Body and Related Repairerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where automotive body and related repairerss 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	Rhode IslandState	1.31	$72,490	$72,129	25%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.25	$62,550	$68,586	23%
3	MissouriState	1.24	$60,540	$68,330	21%
4	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.19	$60,540	$65,237	25%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.16	$76,800	$63,894	49%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$62,200	$62,513	29%
7	MinnesotaState	1.13	$60,970	$62,214	25%
8	MichiganState	1.12	$56,880	$61,625	24%
9	WisconsinState	1.12	$56,660	$61,387	23%
10	CaliforniaState	1.10	$66,860	$60,397	41%
11	NevadaState	1.10	$60,520	$60,399	29%
12	AlabamaState	1.09	$52,040	$59,747	22%
13	MontanaState	1.09	$57,500	$59,647	24%
14	North DakotaState	1.09	$55,160	$59,568	21%
15	AlaskaState	1.08	$61,680	$59,137	27%
16	NebraskaState	1.08	$54,130	$59,158	23%
17	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$57,280	$58,930	33%
18	MississippiState	1.06	$49,500	$58,373	22%
19	OregonState	1.06	$60,000	$58,252	32%
20	South CarolinaState	1.06	$53,290	$57,924	28%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$55,790	$58,236	32%
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$55,690	$57,531	35%
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$67,090	$57,588	41%
24	ArkansasState	1.04	$49,310	$57,138	21%
25	ColoradoState	1.04	$59,880	$56,812	37%
26	New JerseyState	1.04	$62,400	$57,353	35%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$59,000	$57,005	32%
28	IndianaState	1.03	$51,160	$56,530	25%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.03	$61,040	$56,623	35%
30	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.03	$64,590	$56,509	41%
31	VirginiaState	1.02	$57,760	$55,807	33%
32	West VirginiaState	1.02	$47,090	$55,926	21%
33	IowaState	1.01	$49,400	$55,381	23%
34	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$53,660	$55,320	29%
35	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.01	$51,380	$55,546	28%
36	District of ColumbiaState	1.00	$62,640	$54,803	40%
37	GeorgiaState	1.00	$51,190	$54,807	33%
38	HawaiiState	1.00	$60,540	$55,036	47%
39	MassachusettsState	1.00	$59,300	$54,654	46%
40	OklahomaState	1.00	$48,810	$55,153	24%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$51,180	$54,738	30%
42	ConnecticutState	0.99	$58,220	$54,108	32%
43	KansasState	0.99	$48,920	$54,356	25%
44	OhioState	0.99	$49,080	$54,292	26%
45	South DakotaState	0.99	$49,460	$54,471	23%
46	TexasState	0.99	$51,700	$54,079	32%
47	WashingtonState	0.99	$58,340	$54,371	39%
48	ArizonaState	0.98	$54,510	$54,024	33%
49	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$49,440	$53,739	32%
50	IllinoisState	0.97	$52,020	$53,409	30%
51	North CarolinaState	0.97	$50,520	$53,517	31%
52	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$59,770	$52,988	40%
53	New MexicoState	0.96	$48,260	$52,457	26%
54	WyomingState	0.96	$49,200	$52,903	24%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$55,820	$52,760	36%
56	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$59,630	$52,537	51%
57	KentuckyState	0.95	$46,080	$52,068	25%
58	LouisianaState	0.95	$47,150	$52,331	27%
59	MarylandState	0.94	$56,100	$51,374	36%
60	TennesseeState	0.94	$47,460	$51,869	32%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$49,880	$51,850	37%
62	IdahoState	0.93	$49,200	$50,984	29%
63	MaineState	0.92	$50,350	$50,451	31%
64	New HampshireState	0.91	$52,790	$49,802	36%
65	UtahState	0.91	$50,200	$50,100	36%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$49,080	$49,827	42%
67	VermontState	0.90	$50,900	$49,659	34%
68	DelawareState	0.88	$48,780	$48,297	33%
69	FloridaState	0.87	$48,600	$47,882	42%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$51,680	$47,631	47%
71	New YorkState	0.77	$47,670	$42,373	47%

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