Best Cities for Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemical equipment operators and 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	WyomingState	1.88	$101,590	$109,237	12%
2	AlabamaState	1.59	$80,330	$92,227	14%
3	LouisianaState	1.50	$78,580	$87,214	16%
4	MontanaState	1.42	$79,570	$82,541	17%
5	IdahoState	1.38	$77,100	$79,896	19%
6	West VirginiaState	1.35	$66,060	$78,456	15%
7	MississippiState	1.31	$64,360	$75,896	17%
8	ArkansasState	1.29	$64,440	$74,670	16%
9	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$69,630	$69,284	26%
10	OhioState	1.15	$60,550	$66,980	21%
11	TennesseeState	1.15	$60,960	$66,623	25%
12	New MexicoState	1.14	$60,910	$66,207	21%
13	NebraskaState	1.13	$59,750	$65,301	21%
14	KentuckyState	1.12	$57,530	$65,006	20%
15	IowaState	1.11	$57,550	$64,518	20%
16	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$60,260	$64,449	26%
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.11	$72,660	$64,415	33%
18	IllinoisState	1.10	$61,940	$63,593	25%
19	DelawareState	1.08	$63,200	$62,574	26%
20	IndianaState	1.08	$56,800	$62,762	22%
21	TexasState	1.08	$60,150	$62,918	28%
22	WashingtonState	1.08	$67,300	$62,721	34%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$57,500	$61,961	27%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$57,030	$61,654	25%
25	KansasState	1.05	$54,890	$60,989	23%
26	South CarolinaState	1.05	$56,240	$61,130	27%
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$57,110	$59,614	32%
28	NevadaState	1.01	$58,520	$58,403	30%
29	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$56,630	$58,381	27%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$60,410	$58,367	32%
31	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$67,230	$58,819	39%
32	VirginiaState	1.00	$59,970	$57,942	32%
33	MaineState	0.99	$57,240	$57,355	27%
34	MissouriState	0.98	$50,640	$57,156	25%
35	OklahomaState	0.98	$50,160	$56,678	23%
36	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$58,760	$55,539	34%
37	OregonState	0.95	$56,510	$54,864	34%
38	WisconsinState	0.95	$50,870	$55,114	26%
39	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.95	$54,630	$54,905	33%
40	ConnecticutState	0.94	$58,490	$54,359	32%
41	MarylandState	0.94	$59,850	$54,808	34%
42	MinnesotaState	0.94	$53,340	$54,429	29%
43	MichiganState	0.93	$50,060	$54,236	27%
44	South DakotaState	0.93	$48,830	$53,778	24%
45	GeorgiaState	0.92	$49,660	$53,169	34%
46	CaliforniaState	0.91	$58,300	$52,665	47%
47	North CarolinaState	0.91	$49,650	$52,595	31%
48	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.91	$63,510	$52,837	59%
49	MassachusettsState	0.90	$56,920	$52,461	48%
50	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.90	$47,880	$52,500	31%
51	New JerseyState	0.89	$56,500	$51,930	38%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.88	$49,240	$50,868	39%
53	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$57,370	$50,546	53%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$47,230	$48,591	40%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.83	$46,530	$48,368	40%
56	ColoradoState	0.82	$50,370	$47,789	44%
57	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.82	$55,750	$47,854	49%
58	New HampshireState	0.80	$49,440	$46,642	38%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.79	$49,310	$45,742	44%
60	ArizonaState	0.78	$45,790	$45,382	39%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.78	$44,560	$45,239	46%
62	New YorkState	0.76	$49,640	$44,124	45%
63	FloridaState	0.75	$44,360	$43,704	47%
64	HawaiiState	0.75	$47,840	$43,491	60%
65	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.68	$36,430	$39,598	43%
66	UtahState	0.67	$39,020	$38,942	46%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.60	$37,900	$34,931	65%

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