Best Cities for Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where civil engineering technologists and 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	OregonState	1.28	$85,390	$82,903	22%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.26	$98,020	$81,547	38%
3	IllinoisState	1.25	$79,190	$81,304	20%
4	IowaState	1.25	$72,540	$81,323	16%
5	MinnesotaState	1.24	$78,690	$80,296	20%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.24	$79,890	$80,291	22%
7	WisconsinState	1.23	$73,970	$80,141	18%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.21	$84,930	$78,785	25%
9	Columbus, OHMetro	1.20	$72,700	$77,754	21%
10	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.17	$75,070	$76,213	27%
11	CaliforniaState	1.16	$83,490	$75,420	33%
12	LouisianaState	1.16	$68,030	$75,505	18%
13	NevadaState	1.15	$74,810	$74,661	23%
14	WashingtonState	1.14	$79,580	$74,166	29%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$84,660	$74,068	31%
16	NebraskaState	1.12	$66,590	$72,776	19%
17	VermontState	1.11	$74,100	$72,293	23%
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.11	$83,990	$72,094	32%
19	IndianaState	1.10	$64,390	$71,149	20%
20	OhioState	1.10	$64,730	$71,604	19%
21	North DakotaState	1.08	$65,030	$70,227	18%
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$79,330	$70,328	30%
23	MissouriState	1.07	$61,350	$69,244	20%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$63,560	$69,087	25%
25	AlaskaState	1.05	$70,990	$68,063	23%
26	ConnecticutState	1.05	$73,430	$68,243	26%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$63,460	$68,384	24%
28	KentuckyState	1.04	$59,710	$67,469	19%
29	MaineState	1.04	$67,540	$67,675	23%
30	New MexicoState	1.04	$62,440	$67,870	20%
31	OklahomaState	1.04	$60,050	$67,853	19%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$65,360	$67,243	29%
33	South DakotaState	1.03	$60,880	$67,048	19%
34	KansasState	1.02	$59,440	$66,044	21%
35	IdahoState	1.01	$63,200	$65,492	23%
36	MassachusettsState	1.01	$71,350	$65,760	38%
37	New YorkState	1.01	$73,790	$65,591	30%
38	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$63,650	$65,619	24%
39	New JerseyState	1.00	$70,650	$64,936	31%
40	VirginiaState	1.00	$67,100	$64,831	28%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$59,900	$64,757	24%
42	UtahState	0.99	$64,490	$64,361	28%
43	MontanaState	0.98	$61,410	$63,703	22%
44	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$63,650	$63,333	28%
45	West VirginiaState	0.98	$53,340	$63,349	19%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.98	$68,860	$63,465	36%
47	ArizonaState	0.97	$63,560	$62,993	28%
48	MichiganState	0.97	$57,990	$62,828	23%
49	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.97	$57,220	$62,741	26%
50	FloridaState	0.96	$63,410	$62,473	33%
51	North CarolinaState	0.96	$58,700	$62,182	27%
52	TennesseeState	0.96	$57,270	$62,590	26%
53	TexasState	0.96	$59,390	$62,123	28%
54	DelawareState	0.95	$62,120	$61,505	26%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$65,570	$61,975	31%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$63,650	$61,498	30%
57	New HampshireState	0.94	$64,480	$60,830	29%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$69,430	$61,172	44%
59	AlabamaState	0.93	$52,750	$60,563	22%
60	WyomingState	0.93	$56,150	$60,376	21%
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$58,780	$60,723	33%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$58,020	$60,312	32%
63	ArkansasState	0.92	$51,750	$59,965	20%
64	HawaiiState	0.90	$64,410	$58,555	44%
65	South CarolinaState	0.90	$53,710	$58,380	28%
66	MarylandState	0.88	$62,760	$57,473	32%
67	ColoradoState	0.86	$59,050	$56,025	38%
68	MississippiState	0.84	$46,430	$54,752	23%
69	GeorgiaState	0.83	$50,360	$53,919	34%
70	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.81	$50,250	$52,453	36%

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