Best Cities for Civil Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where civil 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	MississippiState	1.17	$100,170	$118,125	11%
2	LouisianaState	1.16	$105,380	$116,959	12%
3	AlabamaState	1.13	$99,010	$113,674	12%
4	KentuckyState	1.13	$100,930	$114,045	11%
5	NebraskaState	1.12	$103,150	$112,732	12%
6	New MexicoState	1.12	$103,900	$112,935	12%
7	OklahomaState	1.11	$98,760	$111,593	12%
8	CaliforniaState	1.10	$122,500	$110,659	22%
9	South CarolinaState	1.10	$101,600	$110,435	15%
10	AlaskaState	1.09	$114,730	$110,000	14%
11	IndianaState	1.08	$98,270	$108,586	13%
12	South DakotaState	1.08	$98,700	$108,700	12%
13	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$100,680	$108,843	14%
14	IowaState	1.07	$96,430	$108,105	12%
15	KansasState	1.07	$96,880	$107,644	13%
16	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.07	$130,280	$108,386	29%
17	North CarolinaState	1.06	$100,730	$106,706	15%
18	OhioState	1.06	$96,220	$106,438	13%
19	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$102,370	$106,858	18%
20	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$98,860	$106,530	16%
21	North DakotaState	1.05	$98,190	$106,037	12%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$99,010	$105,893	16%
23	MissouriState	1.04	$92,750	$104,684	13%
24	TennesseeState	1.04	$95,910	$104,820	16%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$104,740	$105,266	17%
26	MinnesotaState	1.03	$101,480	$103,551	15%
27	NevadaState	1.03	$104,310	$104,102	17%
28	IllinoisState	1.02	$99,760	$102,423	16%
29	WashingtonState	1.02	$110,000	$102,516	21%
30	West VirginiaState	1.02	$86,930	$103,242	12%
31	WisconsinState	1.02	$94,600	$102,492	14%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$98,650	$102,547	19%
33	IdahoState	1.01	$98,030	$101,585	15%
34	OregonState	1.01	$105,250	$102,184	18%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$92,550	$101,480	16%
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$116,480	$101,907	23%
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$100,570	$102,102	21%
38	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$97,850	$100,876	16%
39	TexasState	1.00	$96,860	$101,318	17%
40	MichiganState	0.99	$92,100	$99,783	15%
41	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$96,920	$99,712	20%
42	ArkansasState	0.98	$85,020	$98,517	12%
43	DelawareState	0.98	$100,220	$99,228	16%
44	MassachusettsState	0.98	$106,730	$98,369	25%
45	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$99,300	$98,806	18%
46	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$106,280	$98,590	20%
47	MaineState	0.97	$97,820	$98,016	16%
48	WyomingState	0.97	$90,590	$97,409	13%
49	FloridaState	0.96	$98,570	$97,113	21%
50	MontanaState	0.96	$93,070	$96,546	15%
51	UtahState	0.96	$96,830	$96,637	18%
52	ColoradoState	0.95	$101,420	$96,224	22%
53	ConnecticutState	0.95	$103,150	$95,864	18%
54	New JerseyState	0.95	$104,660	$96,195	21%
55	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$99,410	$96,048	19%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$88,290	$95,967	18%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$100,500	$94,991	20%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$107,670	$94,863	28%
59	VirginiaState	0.93	$97,120	$93,836	19%
60	New HampshireState	0.92	$98,710	$93,123	19%
61	VermontState	0.92	$95,600	$93,268	18%
62	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$108,640	$93,253	25%
63	MarylandState	0.91	$100,680	$92,198	20%
64	New YorkState	0.91	$103,760	$92,231	21%
65	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$103,880	$90,884	24%
66	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$88,000	$90,909	22%
67	GeorgiaState	0.89	$84,240	$90,193	20%
68	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$101,780	$90,230	24%
69	ArizonaState	0.88	$89,660	$88,860	20%
70	HawaiiState	0.85	$94,280	$85,709	30%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$83,750	$77,189	29%

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