Best Cities for Bridge and Lock Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where bridge and lock tenderss 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	1.53	$74,730	$88,125	14%
2	MissouriState	1.45	$74,110	$83,646	17%
3	IowaState	1.38	$70,890	$79,473	16%
4	West VirginiaState	1.35	$65,460	$77,743	15%
5	AlabamaState	1.33	$66,830	$76,728	17%
6	MinnesotaState	1.32	$74,420	$75,939	21%
7	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.29	$68,810	$74,389	21%
8	IllinoisState	1.26	$70,890	$72,782	22%
9	WashingtonState	1.26	$78,020	$72,712	29%
10	PennsylvaniaState	1.23	$68,810	$70,938	23%
11	IndianaState	1.16	$60,780	$67,160	21%
12	KentuckyState	1.14	$58,220	$65,785	20%
13	TennesseeState	1.14	$60,420	$66,033	25%
14	CaliforniaState	1.13	$72,390	$65,393	38%
15	OhioState	1.12	$58,410	$64,613	21%
16	WisconsinState	1.08	$57,350	$62,134	23%
17	MichiganState	0.95	$50,540	$54,756	27%
18	MassachusettsState	0.89	$55,830	$51,456	48%
19	TexasState	0.83	$45,820	$47,929	36%
20	New YorkState	0.79	$51,560	$45,831	43%
21	VirginiaState	0.79	$47,120	$45,527	40%
22	North CarolinaState	0.76	$41,380	$43,835	38%
23	LouisianaState	0.75	$39,090	$43,385	32%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.67	$35,000	$38,377	42%
25	FloridaState	0.48	$28,090	$27,675	73%

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