Best Cities for Chemical Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemical engineerss 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	New MexicoState	1.38	$158,190	$171,946	8%
2	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.32	$152,290	$164,638	9%
3	AlabamaState	1.24	$135,030	$155,029	9%
4	West VirginiaState	1.23	$129,210	$153,456	8%
5	LouisianaState	1.20	$134,800	$149,612	9%
6	OklahomaState	1.15	$127,790	$144,395	9%
7	TexasState	1.11	$132,750	$138,860	13%
8	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$130,520	$134,280	15%
9	DelawareState	1.06	$133,670	$132,347	12%
10	KentuckyState	1.06	$117,170	$132,395	10%
11	MontanaState	1.06	$127,490	$132,251	11%
12	IowaState	1.05	$117,590	$131,827	10%
13	VirginiaState	1.05	$136,380	$131,768	14%
14	MississippiState	1.01	$106,740	$125,873	10%
15	IllinoisState	1.00	$121,560	$124,805	13%
16	IndianaState	1.00	$113,160	$125,039	11%
17	North DakotaState	1.00	$115,400	$124,622	10%
18	North CarolinaState	0.99	$117,410	$124,375	13%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$122,730	$123,347	14%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$127,770	$123,449	15%
21	ArkansasState	0.98	$105,270	$121,981	10%
22	OhioState	0.98	$111,200	$123,009	11%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$131,690	$122,161	16%
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$128,610	$121,560	16%
25	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$115,890	$120,971	16%
26	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$116,970	$120,588	13%
27	WashingtonState	0.96	$128,290	$119,562	18%
28	ColoradoState	0.95	$125,800	$119,355	18%
29	Columbus, OHMetro	0.95	$110,860	$118,567	14%
30	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$132,820	$117,748	18%
31	MarylandState	0.93	$127,190	$116,474	16%
32	New JerseyState	0.93	$126,760	$116,507	17%
33	MissouriState	0.92	$102,320	$115,485	12%
34	New YorkState	0.92	$129,060	$114,720	17%
35	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$134,210	$115,202	20%
36	KansasState	0.91	$102,020	$113,356	12%
37	OregonState	0.91	$116,950	$113,544	16%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.91	$104,230	$114,287	14%
39	GeorgiaState	0.89	$103,880	$111,221	16%
40	MichiganState	0.89	$103,230	$111,842	13%
41	Rhode IslandState	0.89	$111,590	$111,035	16%
42	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$110,000	$111,675	19%
43	IdahoState	0.88	$106,740	$110,611	13%
44	MinnesotaState	0.88	$107,670	$109,867	14%
45	South CarolinaState	0.88	$101,570	$110,402	15%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.88	$102,320	$110,259	15%
47	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$125,200	$109,536	21%
48	MassachusettsState	0.87	$118,000	$108,756	23%
49	FloridaState	0.86	$109,000	$107,389	19%
50	NebraskaState	0.86	$98,310	$107,443	13%
51	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$103,520	$106,942	19%
52	WisconsinState	0.85	$97,660	$105,807	13%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$111,980	$103,207	22%
54	AlaskaState	0.81	$106,080	$101,707	15%
55	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.77	$109,460	$96,441	28%
56	ConnecticutState	0.76	$102,270	$95,046	18%
57	UtahState	0.68	$85,520	$85,349	21%
58	New HampshireState	0.55	$73,250	$69,104	26%

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