Best Cities for Construction and Building Inspectorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where construction and building inspectorss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.45	$129,750	$107,945	29%
2	AlaskaState	1.31	$102,410	$98,188	16%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$94,420	$94,894	19%
4	CaliforniaState	1.23	$101,290	$91,500	27%
5	ConnecticutState	1.23	$98,670	$91,701	19%
6	MinnesotaState	1.21	$88,670	$90,480	17%
7	WashingtonState	1.20	$96,140	$89,599	24%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.20	$102,830	$89,965	26%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.16	$93,340	$86,586	23%
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.15	$100,280	$86,077	27%
11	North DakotaState	1.14	$78,570	$84,849	15%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$76,980	$84,408	19%
13	OhioState	1.10	$74,490	$82,400	17%
14	OregonState	1.10	$84,510	$82,049	23%
15	WisconsinState	1.10	$75,610	$81,918	17%
16	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$76,930	$82,278	20%
17	IllinoisState	1.08	$78,340	$80,431	20%
18	IowaState	1.08	$71,630	$80,303	16%
19	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$75,570	$78,883	24%
20	MontanaState	1.05	$75,700	$78,527	18%
21	MassachusettsState	1.03	$83,200	$76,682	33%
22	MichiganState	1.03	$71,040	$76,966	19%
23	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$77,420	$77,035	23%
24	ColoradoState	1.02	$79,950	$75,854	28%
25	West VirginiaState	1.02	$64,000	$76,010	16%
26	District of ColumbiaState	1.01	$86,200	$75,416	29%
27	LouisianaState	1.01	$68,260	$75,760	18%
28	NevadaState	1.01	$75,290	$75,140	23%
29	New JerseyState	1.01	$81,760	$75,147	26%
30	MaineState	1.00	$74,670	$74,820	21%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$72,410	$74,804	27%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$84,620	$74,555	36%
33	UtahState	0.99	$74,130	$73,982	24%
34	VirginiaState	0.98	$75,660	$73,101	25%
35	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$75,710	$73,150	25%
36	ArizonaState	0.97	$73,440	$72,785	24%
37	HawaiiState	0.97	$79,320	$72,109	36%
38	DelawareState	0.96	$72,700	$71,980	22%
39	South DakotaState	0.96	$64,940	$71,520	18%
40	GeorgiaState	0.95	$65,980	$70,642	26%
41	MissouriState	0.95	$62,970	$71,072	20%
42	NebraskaState	0.95	$65,000	$71,038	19%
43	New MexicoState	0.95	$65,420	$71,109	19%
44	New YorkState	0.95	$79,460	$70,631	28%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$69,020	$71,008	28%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$76,610	$70,608	32%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$80,150	$71,055	30%
48	AlabamaState	0.94	$61,300	$70,379	19%
49	KansasState	0.94	$63,150	$70,167	20%
50	MarylandState	0.94	$76,640	$70,183	26%
51	North CarolinaState	0.94	$66,080	$70,000	24%
52	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.94	$65,330	$70,399	24%
53	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$64,610	$69,849	22%
54	IndianaState	0.93	$62,850	$69,448	20%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$73,840	$69,792	27%
56	KentuckyState	0.91	$60,200	$68,023	19%
57	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$65,870	$67,907	24%
58	TexasState	0.91	$64,810	$67,793	26%
59	FloridaState	0.90	$68,170	$67,163	30%
60	OklahomaState	0.90	$59,280	$66,983	20%
61	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.90	$62,110	$67,511	25%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$66,220	$67,228	31%
63	WyomingState	0.89	$61,870	$66,527	19%
64	IdahoState	0.88	$63,570	$65,876	23%
65	TennesseeState	0.88	$59,870	$65,432	25%
66	VermontState	0.87	$66,580	$64,956	26%
67	South CarolinaState	0.86	$58,840	$63,957	26%
68	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.85	$61,310	$63,732	30%
69	New HampshireState	0.83	$65,640	$61,925	29%
70	ArkansasState	0.82	$52,700	$61,066	20%
71	MississippiState	0.79	$50,250	$59,257	21%

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