Best Cities for Construction Laborerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where construction laborerss 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	HawaiiState	1.49	$77,110	$70,100	37%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.37	$60,540	$64,749	26%
3	MissouriState	1.36	$56,730	$64,029	22%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.34	$57,430	$62,971	25%
5	IllinoisState	1.32	$60,690	$62,310	26%
6	OhioState	1.32	$56,080	$62,035	22%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.32	$61,970	$62,281	29%
8	MinnesotaState	1.30	$60,260	$61,490	25%
9	WisconsinState	1.29	$56,100	$60,780	23%
10	New JerseyState	1.25	$64,060	$58,879	34%
11	MassachusettsState	1.24	$63,390	$58,424	43%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.21	$57,240	$56,955	32%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.21	$68,470	$56,963	55%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.19	$63,420	$55,877	48%
15	AlaskaState	1.18	$58,060	$55,666	28%
16	IndianaState	1.17	$50,070	$55,326	25%
17	CaliforniaState	1.16	$60,270	$54,444	45%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.16	$50,600	$54,703	28%
19	ConnecticutState	1.15	$58,290	$54,173	32%
20	IowaState	1.15	$48,490	$54,361	24%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$50,500	$54,418	31%
22	MichiganState	1.14	$49,590	$53,727	27%
23	WashingtonState	1.14	$57,720	$53,793	39%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.13	$55,120	$53,256	35%
25	North DakotaState	1.12	$49,070	$52,991	24%
26	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$59,740	$52,266	44%
27	KentuckyState	1.10	$45,710	$51,650	25%
28	MontanaState	1.10	$49,830	$51,691	27%
29	NebraskaState	1.10	$47,260	$51,650	27%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$49,400	$50,928	31%
31	West VirginiaState	1.08	$42,670	$50,677	24%
32	South DakotaState	1.07	$45,710	$50,341	25%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$58,810	$50,481	46%
34	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$54,240	$50,315	40%
35	KansasState	1.06	$44,840	$49,822	28%
36	New YorkState	1.06	$55,930	$49,716	40%
37	OregonState	1.05	$50,860	$49,379	38%
38	WyomingState	1.05	$46,030	$49,495	26%
39	NevadaState	1.04	$48,990	$48,892	36%
40	TennesseeState	1.04	$45,000	$49,180	33%
41	IdahoState	1.03	$46,940	$48,642	31%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$45,850	$47,860	39%
43	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$46,190	$48,015	40%
44	North CarolinaState	1.01	$44,720	$47,373	35%
45	VermontState	1.01	$48,580	$47,395	35%
46	New HampshireState	1.00	$49,980	$47,151	38%
47	MaineState	0.99	$46,430	$46,523	33%
48	South CarolinaState	0.99	$42,940	$46,674	35%
49	UtahState	0.99	$46,550	$46,457	38%
50	ArizonaState	0.98	$46,590	$46,174	39%
51	ColoradoState	0.96	$47,900	$45,446	46%
52	DelawareState	0.96	$45,550	$45,099	36%
53	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$43,960	$45,226	43%
54	MississippiState	0.94	$37,710	$44,469	28%
55	OklahomaState	0.94	$39,360	$44,475	30%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$43,750	$44,416	47%
57	ArkansasState	0.93	$37,630	$43,604	28%
58	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$50,020	$43,762	50%
59	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$46,460	$43,913	43%
60	FloridaState	0.92	$44,030	$43,379	47%
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$42,010	$43,399	46%
62	MarylandState	0.91	$46,960	$43,004	43%
63	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$39,390	$42,815	40%
64	AlabamaState	0.90	$36,900	$42,365	31%
65	LouisianaState	0.90	$38,230	$42,431	33%
66	TexasState	0.90	$40,620	$42,490	41%
67	GeorgiaState	0.89	$38,990	$41,745	44%
68	New MexicoState	0.89	$38,400	$41,739	33%
69	VirginiaState	0.89	$43,560	$42,087	43%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$45,520	$41,954	54%
71	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$47,430	$42,048	50%

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