Best Cities for Construction Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where construction managerss 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	WashingtonState	1.26	$155,070	$144,520	15%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.21	$159,430	$139,484	17%
3	New YorkState	1.20	$155,360	$138,098	14%
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.20	$156,470	$137,859	20%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$146,740	$136,122	15%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$163,040	$135,641	23%
7	KansasState	1.17	$120,810	$134,233	10%
8	AlaskaState	1.16	$139,190	$133,452	12%
9	MassachusettsState	1.16	$145,010	$133,650	19%
10	DelawareState	1.14	$132,150	$130,842	12%
11	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.14	$121,790	$131,239	13%
12	South DakotaState	1.13	$118,380	$130,374	10%
13	OregonState	1.11	$131,420	$127,592	15%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$126,920	$127,558	14%
15	MinnesotaState	1.10	$123,400	$125,918	12%
16	MissouriState	1.10	$112,230	$126,670	11%
17	New JerseyState	1.10	$138,230	$127,050	16%
18	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.10	$122,190	$127,017	15%
19	WisconsinState	1.08	$114,190	$123,716	11%
20	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$119,590	$123,543	16%
21	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.07	$120,800	$122,640	17%
22	LouisianaState	1.06	$110,010	$122,098	11%
23	New HampshireState	1.06	$129,260	$121,943	15%
24	CaliforniaState	1.05	$133,160	$120,289	20%
25	TennesseeState	1.05	$110,200	$120,437	14%
26	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$109,890	$120,493	13%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$124,990	$120,763	15%
28	ColoradoState	1.03	$124,830	$118,435	18%
29	GeorgiaState	1.03	$110,810	$118,640	15%
30	HawaiiState	1.02	$128,910	$117,191	22%
31	IndianaState	1.02	$106,390	$117,558	12%
32	MarylandState	1.02	$128,330	$117,518	16%
33	MississippiState	1.02	$99,520	$117,358	11%
34	South CarolinaState	1.02	$108,110	$117,511	14%
35	ConnecticutState	1.01	$125,190	$116,348	15%
36	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.01	$126,110	$116,230	19%
37	NevadaState	1.00	$115,250	$115,020	15%
38	VirginiaState	1.00	$119,110	$115,082	16%
39	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$121,490	$114,830	17%
40	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$129,650	$114,938	18%
41	ArizonaState	0.99	$114,680	$113,657	16%
42	New MexicoState	0.99	$104,550	$113,641	12%
43	OklahomaState	0.99	$100,690	$113,774	12%
44	West VirginiaState	0.99	$95,740	$113,705	11%
45	North CarolinaState	0.98	$106,640	$112,966	15%
46	OhioState	0.98	$101,980	$112,810	12%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$105,200	$112,513	15%
48	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$131,680	$113,030	21%
49	AlabamaState	0.97	$96,960	$111,320	12%
50	FloridaState	0.97	$113,130	$111,458	18%
51	IllinoisState	0.97	$109,160	$112,074	14%
52	IowaState	0.97	$99,280	$111,300	12%
53	MichiganState	0.97	$103,230	$111,842	13%
54	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$108,250	$111,598	14%
55	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$107,200	$111,900	17%
56	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$103,420	$111,805	14%
57	District of ColumbiaState	0.96	$126,430	$110,612	20%
58	MaineState	0.96	$110,070	$110,291	14%
59	NebraskaState	0.96	$100,820	$110,186	12%
60	North DakotaState	0.96	$102,070	$110,227	11%
61	KentuckyState	0.95	$97,020	$109,627	12%
62	IdahoState	0.94	$104,600	$108,394	14%
63	MontanaState	0.94	$104,480	$108,382	13%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$103,550	$106,533	18%
65	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$98,450	$107,011	16%
66	TexasState	0.92	$101,470	$106,140	16%
67	UtahState	0.91	$105,200	$104,990	17%
68	Rhode IslandState	0.90	$103,990	$103,473	17%
69	VermontState	0.88	$103,450	$100,927	17%
70	ArkansasState	0.87	$86,310	$100,012	12%
71	WyomingState	0.86	$92,320	$99,269	13%

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