Best Cities for Chemical Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemical technicianss 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	LouisianaState	1.58	$85,850	$95,283	15%
2	South CarolinaState	1.35	$75,020	$81,543	20%
3	DelawareState	1.29	$78,620	$77,842	21%
4	MissouriState	1.28	$68,550	$77,370	18%
5	AlaskaState	1.26	$79,380	$76,107	21%
6	West VirginiaState	1.16	$58,750	$69,774	17%
7	KentuckyState	1.14	$60,830	$68,734	19%
8	KansasState	1.13	$61,560	$68,400	20%
9	NebraskaState	1.13	$62,640	$68,459	20%
10	OklahomaState	1.12	$60,020	$67,819	19%
11	AlabamaState	1.11	$58,150	$66,762	20%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$62,340	$66,674	25%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.10	$61,560	$66,336	25%
14	OhioState	1.09	$59,750	$66,095	21%
15	ArizonaState	1.08	$65,860	$65,273	27%
16	IndianaState	1.08	$59,290	$65,514	21%
17	IowaState	1.08	$58,090	$65,123	20%
18	TexasState	1.08	$62,580	$65,460	27%
19	MississippiState	1.07	$54,580	$64,363	20%
20	WisconsinState	1.07	$59,440	$64,399	22%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$61,730	$64,436	29%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$62,990	$64,805	30%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$66,940	$64,676	29%
24	VermontState	1.06	$65,560	$63,961	26%
25	IllinoisState	1.05	$61,890	$63,542	25%
26	MinnesotaState	1.05	$62,400	$63,673	25%
27	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$62,820	$63,136	28%
28	MichiganState	1.04	$58,180	$63,034	23%
29	North CarolinaState	1.04	$59,030	$62,532	26%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$60,830	$62,841	32%
31	GeorgiaState	1.03	$58,120	$62,227	29%
32	MassachusettsState	1.03	$67,570	$62,276	40%
33	North DakotaState	1.03	$57,760	$62,376	20%
34	NevadaState	1.02	$61,520	$61,397	28%
35	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$61,680	$61,373	29%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$59,420	$61,258	26%
37	ColoradoState	1.00	$63,770	$60,503	35%
38	WyomingState	1.00	$56,320	$60,559	21%
39	New MexicoState	0.99	$55,120	$59,913	23%
40	TennesseeState	0.99	$54,840	$59,934	27%
41	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$67,850	$59,780	45%
42	HawaiiState	0.96	$63,910	$58,100	45%
43	WashingtonState	0.96	$62,100	$57,875	37%
44	IdahoState	0.94	$54,560	$56,539	26%
45	OregonState	0.93	$57,960	$56,272	33%
46	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.92	$67,140	$55,857	56%
47	MontanaState	0.91	$52,890	$54,865	26%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.91	$51,030	$55,168	28%
49	New YorkState	0.90	$60,900	$54,133	36%
50	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.90	$49,460	$54,232	30%
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.90	$49,810	$54,141	31%
52	CaliforniaState	0.89	$59,510	$53,758	46%
53	New JerseyState	0.89	$58,580	$53,842	37%
54	South DakotaState	0.89	$49,030	$53,998	23%
55	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$58,020	$53,822	37%
56	ConnecticutState	0.88	$57,310	$53,262	33%
57	FloridaState	0.88	$54,050	$53,251	38%
58	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.88	$51,170	$53,191	36%
59	ArkansasState	0.87	$45,230	$52,410	23%
60	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.87	$60,380	$52,826	44%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$50,840	$51,614	41%
62	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.85	$57,880	$51,312	41%
63	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$54,750	$50,461	45%
64	VirginiaState	0.83	$51,850	$50,097	36%
65	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.83	$58,070	$49,845	47%
66	District of ColumbiaState	0.82	$56,530	$49,458	45%
67	MaineState	0.82	$49,280	$49,379	32%
68	UtahState	0.81	$49,030	$48,932	37%
69	New HampshireState	0.76	$48,940	$46,170	39%
70	MarylandState	0.75	$49,280	$45,128	41%
71	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.67	$43,080	$40,718	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).