Best Cities for Chemical Plant and System Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemical plant and system operatorss 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	FloridaState	1.62	$128,830	$126,926	16%
2	WyomingState	1.48	$107,810	$115,925	11%
3	LouisianaState	1.42	$100,060	$111,054	13%
4	KentuckyState	1.41	$97,550	$110,226	12%
5	TexasState	1.38	$102,750	$107,479	16%
6	ArkansasState	1.36	$91,610	$106,153	12%
7	AlabamaState	1.35	$91,610	$105,178	13%
8	West VirginiaState	1.24	$81,710	$97,043	12%
9	MarylandState	1.12	$95,150	$87,134	21%
10	IdahoState	1.10	$82,980	$85,990	17%
11	OregonState	1.08	$87,110	$84,573	22%
12	MississippiState	1.07	$71,080	$83,821	15%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$87,210	$80,900	25%
14	New JerseyState	1.02	$86,820	$79,798	25%
15	CaliforniaState	1.01	$87,550	$79,088	31%
16	New MexicoState	1.01	$72,610	$78,924	17%
17	MichiganState	1.00	$72,430	$78,472	19%
18	MassachusettsState	0.99	$83,710	$77,152	32%
19	OhioState	0.96	$67,580	$74,757	19%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$77,260	$74,647	25%
21	South CarolinaState	0.95	$68,510	$74,467	22%
22	PennsylvaniaState	0.93	$70,110	$72,278	22%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$82,170	$72,396	37%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.90	$69,710	$70,060	25%
25	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.89	$64,360	$69,578	22%
26	IowaState	0.87	$60,440	$67,758	19%
27	MinnesotaState	0.87	$66,500	$67,857	23%
28	WisconsinState	0.87	$62,720	$67,952	21%
29	IllinoisState	0.86	$65,710	$67,464	24%
30	North CarolinaState	0.85	$62,920	$66,653	25%
31	South DakotaState	0.85	$59,970	$66,046	19%
32	UtahState	0.81	$63,460	$63,333	28%
33	MissouriState	0.80	$55,470	$62,607	22%
34	VirginiaState	0.78	$63,000	$60,870	30%
35	ColoradoState	0.76	$62,870	$59,649	35%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.76	$66,640	$59,078	36%
37	New YorkState	0.72	$62,980	$55,982	35%
38	WashingtonState	0.72	$60,120	$56,030	38%
39	IndianaState	0.69	$49,110	$54,265	26%
40	GeorgiaState	0.67	$49,230	$52,709	34%
41	TennesseeState	0.64	$45,830	$50,087	33%

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