Best Cities for Crane and Tower Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where crane and tower operatorss 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	NevadaState	1.70	$115,840	$115,609	15%
2	HawaiiState	1.66	$124,260	$112,964	23%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.52	$104,340	$103,821	17%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.47	$99,540	$100,040	18%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.47	$114,330	$100,026	23%
6	WashingtonState	1.38	$101,110	$94,231	23%
7	New JerseyState	1.36	$100,640	$92,500	21%
8	MassachusettsState	1.33	$98,150	$90,461	28%
9	North DakotaState	1.31	$82,890	$89,514	14%
10	AlaskaState	1.30	$92,490	$88,677	18%
11	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.28	$81,150	$87,446	19%
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.27	$98,140	$86,467	31%
13	KansasState	1.26	$77,100	$85,667	16%
14	MontanaState	1.26	$82,800	$85,892	16%
15	WyomingState	1.23	$77,970	$83,839	15%
16	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.22	$87,950	$83,129	23%
17	MinnesotaState	1.21	$80,930	$82,582	19%
18	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.20	$92,120	$81,667	26%
19	OregonState	1.19	$83,260	$80,835	23%
20	MarylandState	1.18	$87,950	$80,540	23%
21	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.17	$76,750	$79,782	24%
22	South DakotaState	1.15	$71,000	$78,194	16%
23	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.15	$77,420	$78,599	27%
24	TexasState	1.13	$73,280	$76,653	23%
25	New YorkState	1.12	$85,850	$76,311	26%
26	ConnecticutState	1.11	$81,360	$75,613	23%
27	IowaState	1.11	$67,600	$75,785	17%
28	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$80,260	$74,453	27%
29	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$68,200	$74,130	23%
30	WisconsinState	1.08	$67,720	$73,369	19%
31	ColoradoState	1.07	$77,120	$73,169	29%
32	CaliforniaState	1.06	$79,570	$71,879	34%
33	MississippiState	1.06	$61,260	$72,241	18%
34	OklahomaState	1.06	$63,590	$71,853	18%
35	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.06	$78,100	$71,982	31%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$66,710	$71,348	23%
37	FloridaState	1.04	$71,560	$70,502	29%
38	VermontState	1.04	$72,760	$70,985	24%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$68,640	$70,617	28%
40	AlabamaState	1.03	$60,790	$69,793	19%
41	KentuckyState	1.03	$62,000	$70,056	19%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$81,490	$69,948	33%
43	South CarolinaState	1.02	$64,120	$69,696	23%
44	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$72,010	$69,575	27%
45	LouisianaState	1.00	$61,170	$67,891	21%
46	New MexicoState	1.00	$62,400	$67,826	20%
47	North CarolinaState	1.00	$64,480	$68,305	24%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$65,190	$67,206	24%
49	UtahState	0.99	$67,410	$67,275	27%
50	ArizonaState	0.98	$67,350	$66,749	27%
51	GeorgiaState	0.98	$62,050	$66,435	27%
52	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$61,510	$66,497	23%
53	MaineState	0.97	$65,690	$65,822	24%
54	MissouriState	0.97	$58,450	$65,971	21%
55	NebraskaState	0.97	$60,720	$66,361	21%
56	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$63,300	$66,075	28%
57	West VirginiaState	0.96	$54,830	$65,119	18%
58	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$59,740	$65,504	24%
59	MichiganState	0.95	$59,740	$64,724	22%
60	TennesseeState	0.95	$59,410	$64,929	25%
61	VirginiaState	0.95	$66,600	$64,348	28%
62	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$62,910	$64,990	31%
63	OhioState	0.94	$57,620	$63,739	22%
64	IllinoisState	0.93	$61,820	$63,470	25%
65	New HampshireState	0.88	$63,310	$59,726	30%
66	DelawareState	0.87	$60,160	$59,564	27%
67	IndianaState	0.86	$52,950	$58,508	24%
68	IdahoState	0.80	$52,770	$54,684	27%
69	ArkansasState	0.71	$41,600	$48,204	25%

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