Best Cities for Carpenterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where carpenterss 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	IllinoisState	1.34	$79,000	$81,109	20%
2	HawaiiState	1.28	$85,280	$77,527	34%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.23	$74,060	$74,432	24%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.19	$65,810	$72,160	22%
5	AlaskaState	1.17	$73,860	$70,815	22%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.17	$66,480	$71,102	23%
7	IndianaState	1.15	$62,870	$69,470	20%
8	MassachusettsState	1.14	$75,200	$69,309	36%
9	WashingtonState	1.14	$74,190	$69,143	31%
10	CaliforniaState	1.13	$75,920	$68,582	36%
11	MissouriState	1.13	$60,840	$68,668	20%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$73,710	$68,377	29%
13	OhioState	1.11	$60,810	$67,268	21%
14	MichiganState	1.10	$61,680	$66,826	22%
15	WisconsinState	1.10	$61,660	$66,804	21%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.10	$61,810	$66,606	25%
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.10	$80,190	$66,714	47%
18	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.10	$76,410	$66,850	35%
19	MinnesotaState	1.09	$64,930	$66,255	24%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$75,210	$66,264	41%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$61,180	$66,141	23%
22	IowaState	1.07	$57,710	$64,697	20%
23	New MexicoState	1.07	$59,720	$64,913	21%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$75,740	$65,013	36%
25	New YorkState	1.06	$72,330	$64,293	31%
26	KansasState	1.04	$56,960	$63,289	22%
27	MaineState	1.03	$62,160	$62,285	25%
28	NevadaState	1.03	$62,380	$62,255	28%
29	North DakotaState	1.03	$57,890	$62,516	20%
30	MontanaState	1.01	$58,820	$61,017	23%
31	OregonState	1.01	$62,870	$61,039	30%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$59,370	$61,206	26%
33	WyomingState	1.01	$56,850	$61,129	21%
34	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$60,840	$60,537	30%
35	VermontState	1.00	$62,400	$60,878	27%
36	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$61,780	$59,691	31%
37	ColoradoState	0.98	$62,830	$59,611	35%
38	ConnecticutState	0.98	$64,060	$59,535	29%
39	KentuckyState	0.98	$52,680	$59,525	22%
40	DelawareState	0.97	$59,200	$58,614	27%
41	New JerseyState	0.97	$64,010	$58,833	34%
42	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$62,380	$58,960	32%
43	ArizonaState	0.96	$58,580	$58,057	31%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$55,770	$57,973	33%
45	MarylandState	0.95	$62,960	$57,656	32%
46	MississippiState	0.95	$48,650	$57,370	22%
47	New HampshireState	0.95	$61,200	$57,736	31%
48	West VirginiaState	0.95	$48,710	$57,850	21%
49	TennesseeState	0.92	$50,830	$55,552	30%
50	AlabamaState	0.91	$48,220	$55,362	24%
51	ArkansasState	0.91	$47,760	$55,342	22%
52	LouisianaState	0.91	$49,920	$55,405	25%
53	NebraskaState	0.91	$50,320	$54,995	25%
54	South CarolinaState	0.91	$50,670	$55,076	30%
55	District of ColumbiaState	0.89	$61,710	$53,990	41%
56	IdahoState	0.89	$52,000	$53,886	28%
57	VirginiaState	0.89	$55,690	$53,807	34%
58	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$60,800	$53,901	39%
59	South DakotaState	0.88	$48,140	$53,018	24%
60	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$50,960	$53,194	35%
61	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$48,900	$53,152	32%
62	GeorgiaState	0.87	$49,350	$52,837	34%
63	OklahomaState	0.87	$46,910	$53,006	25%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.87	$52,130	$52,924	40%
65	North CarolinaState	0.86	$49,100	$52,013	32%
66	UtahState	0.86	$52,360	$52,255	34%
67	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$50,680	$52,355	38%
68	TexasState	0.84	$48,900	$51,151	34%
69	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.83	$48,740	$50,144	39%
70	FloridaState	0.81	$49,870	$49,133	41%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.78	$51,570	$47,530	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).