Best Cities for Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanicss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where automotive service technicians and mechanicss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.28	$77,840	$64,759	48%
2	North DakotaState	1.22	$57,360	$61,944	20%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$56,000	$61,404	26%
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.21	$58,700	$61,019	32%
5	MontanaState	1.20	$58,740	$60,934	23%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.20	$60,490	$60,794	29%
7	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$68,660	$60,070	37%
8	Columbus, OHMetro	1.19	$56,150	$60,053	28%
9	MinnesotaState	1.18	$58,390	$59,582	26%
10	CaliforniaState	1.16	$64,980	$58,699	42%
11	MichiganState	1.16	$54,120	$58,635	25%
12	WisconsinState	1.16	$54,350	$58,884	24%
13	AlaskaState	1.15	$60,840	$58,332	27%
14	ColoradoState	1.15	$61,280	$58,140	36%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$53,790	$57,963	29%
16	DelawareState	1.14	$58,410	$57,832	28%
17	VirginiaState	1.13	$59,330	$57,324	32%
18	IowaState	1.12	$50,510	$56,626	23%
19	OregonState	1.12	$58,520	$56,816	33%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.12	$58,460	$56,483	33%
21	ConnecticutState	1.11	$60,220	$55,967	31%
22	MassachusettsState	1.11	$60,760	$56,000	45%
23	South DakotaState	1.11	$51,160	$56,344	22%
24	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.11	$53,660	$56,013	34%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$60,450	$56,076	36%
26	MissouriState	1.10	$49,160	$55,485	25%
27	New HampshireState	1.10	$59,020	$55,679	32%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$63,060	$55,559	49%
29	NebraskaState	1.09	$50,560	$55,257	25%
30	TennesseeState	1.09	$50,290	$54,962	30%
31	WyomingState	1.09	$51,330	$55,194	23%
32	IndianaState	1.08	$49,360	$54,541	26%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.08	$57,630	$54,471	35%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$61,860	$54,840	39%
35	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$62,820	$53,923	43%
36	OhioState	1.06	$48,710	$53,883	26%
37	KansasState	1.05	$47,790	$53,100	26%
38	WashingtonState	1.05	$57,270	$53,374	40%
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$51,450	$53,151	38%
40	AlabamaState	1.04	$45,640	$52,400	25%
41	GeorgiaState	1.04	$49,060	$52,527	35%
42	MarylandState	1.04	$57,520	$52,674	35%
43	OklahomaState	1.04	$46,560	$52,610	25%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$48,900	$52,865	29%
45	MaineState	1.03	$52,040	$52,144	30%
46	New JerseyState	1.03	$56,610	$52,031	38%
47	South CarolinaState	1.03	$48,100	$52,283	31%
48	LouisianaState	1.02	$46,400	$51,498	27%
49	New MexicoState	1.02	$47,300	$51,413	27%
50	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$51,770	$51,512	35%
51	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$59,290	$51,872	44%
52	ArkansasState	1.01	$44,160	$51,170	24%
53	North CarolinaState	1.01	$48,200	$51,059	32%
54	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$49,800	$51,340	31%
55	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$49,720	$51,152	38%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$46,880	$50,957	33%
57	IllinoisState	1.00	$49,170	$50,483	32%
58	KentuckyState	1.00	$44,890	$50,723	26%
59	TexasState	1.00	$48,310	$50,533	34%
60	VermontState	1.00	$51,630	$50,371	33%
61	IdahoState	0.99	$48,420	$50,176	30%
62	ArizonaState	0.97	$49,570	$49,128	36%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$47,880	$48,609	43%
64	NevadaState	0.95	$48,290	$48,194	36%
65	New YorkState	0.95	$54,120	$48,107	41%
66	FloridaState	0.94	$48,260	$47,547	43%
67	HawaiiState	0.94	$52,160	$47,418	55%
68	UtahState	0.92	$46,570	$46,477	38%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$49,550	$45,668	49%
70	MississippiState	0.88	$37,820	$44,599	28%
71	West VirginiaState	0.88	$37,660	$44,727	27%

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