Best Cities for Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenderss 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	NebraskaState	1.80	$68,170	$74,503	18%
2	IowaState	1.70	$62,520	$70,090	18%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.64	$65,850	$67,747	29%
4	IndianaState	1.49	$55,730	$61,580	23%
5	MissouriState	1.47	$53,940	$60,880	23%
6	OhioState	1.29	$48,160	$53,274	26%
7	WisconsinState	1.23	$47,060	$50,986	28%
8	IllinoisState	1.22	$49,200	$50,513	32%
9	GeorgiaState	1.21	$46,770	$50,075	36%
10	IdahoState	1.21	$48,360	$50,114	30%
11	South DakotaState	1.21	$45,520	$50,132	25%
12	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.17	$46,950	$48,502	41%
13	MinnesotaState	1.16	$46,910	$47,867	33%
14	WashingtonState	1.15	$50,870	$47,409	45%
15	New JerseyState	1.14	$51,460	$47,298	42%
16	KentuckyState	1.12	$40,840	$46,147	28%
17	UtahState	1.10	$45,500	$45,409	39%
18	MississippiState	1.09	$38,200	$45,047	28%
19	FloridaState	1.08	$45,270	$44,601	46%
20	OklahomaState	1.08	$39,630	$44,780	29%
21	ArkansasState	1.07	$38,090	$44,137	28%
22	ColoradoState	1.06	$46,160	$43,795	48%
23	MassachusettsState	1.04	$46,800	$43,134	58%
24	South CarolinaState	1.04	$39,640	$43,087	38%
25	North CarolinaState	1.00	$39,030	$41,345	40%
26	TennesseeState	1.00	$37,780	$41,290	40%
27	AlabamaState	0.98	$35,280	$40,505	33%
28	New YorkState	0.98	$45,460	$40,409	49%
29	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$39,360	$40,577	40%
30	OregonState	0.94	$40,030	$38,864	48%
31	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$36,090	$39,016	39%
32	CaliforniaState	0.92	$42,100	$38,031	65%
33	ConnecticutState	0.92	$41,080	$38,178	46%
34	TexasState	0.91	$35,810	$37,458	46%
35	HawaiiState	0.84	$37,990	$34,536	75%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$40,580	$34,833	67%
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.84	$39,340	$34,876	61%
38	MichiganState	0.83	$31,700	$34,345	42%
39	VirginiaState	0.83	$35,370	$34,174	53%

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