Best Cities for Boilermakerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where boilermakerss 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	MississippiState	1.63	$105,910	$124,894	10%
2	New MexicoState	1.44	$101,200	$110,000	12%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.44	$100,110	$109,770	15%
4	CaliforniaState	1.40	$118,150	$106,730	23%
5	MichiganState	1.39	$98,220	$106,414	14%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.39	$105,430	$105,960	17%
7	WisconsinState	1.38	$97,590	$105,731	13%
8	IllinoisState	1.34	$99,730	$102,392	16%
9	IndianaState	1.32	$91,410	$101,006	14%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.29	$91,420	$98,832	15%
11	MinnesotaState	1.28	$96,190	$98,153	16%
12	OhioState	1.24	$85,550	$94,635	15%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.24	$110,370	$94,738	25%
14	IowaState	1.21	$82,470	$92,455	14%
15	IdahoState	1.20	$88,400	$91,606	16%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.17	$86,850	$89,536	18%
17	ArkansasState	1.16	$76,810	$89,003	14%
18	MissouriState	1.16	$78,550	$88,657	16%
19	WashingtonState	1.16	$95,200	$88,723	24%
20	OklahomaState	1.15	$77,750	$87,853	15%
21	ColoradoState	1.11	$89,350	$84,772	25%
22	KentuckyState	1.11	$74,810	$84,531	15%
23	WyomingState	1.10	$77,900	$83,763	15%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$86,910	$83,971	22%
25	LouisianaState	1.07	$73,980	$82,109	17%
26	New HampshireState	1.06	$85,470	$80,632	22%
27	South CarolinaState	1.06	$74,840	$81,348	20%
28	KansasState	1.05	$72,170	$80,189	17%
29	TexasState	1.04	$75,750	$79,236	22%
30	ArizonaState	1.01	$77,940	$77,245	23%
31	New JerseyState	0.99	$82,410	$75,744	26%
32	New YorkState	0.99	$84,770	$75,351	26%
33	West VirginiaState	0.99	$63,850	$75,831	16%
34	ConnecticutState	0.98	$80,360	$74,684	23%
35	AlabamaState	0.96	$63,570	$72,985	18%
36	FloridaState	0.90	$69,790	$68,759	30%
37	GeorgiaState	0.90	$64,200	$68,737	26%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$64,200	$66,322	30%
39	VirginiaState	0.85	$67,540	$65,256	28%
40	NevadaState	0.80	$61,430	$61,307	28%
41	TennesseeState	0.74	$51,810	$56,623	29%
42	North CarolinaState	0.69	$49,720	$52,669	31%
43	MarylandState	0.51	$42,250	$38,690	48%

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