Best Cities for Cutters and Trimmers, Hands

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cutters and trimmers, hands 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	IowaState	1.43	$48,580	$54,462	24%
2	NebraskaState	1.40	$48,830	$53,366	26%
3	MichiganState	1.33	$46,830	$50,737	29%
4	North CarolinaState	1.33	$47,910	$50,752	33%
5	Rhode IslandState	1.26	$48,100	$47,861	38%
6	MinnesotaState	1.25	$46,570	$47,520	33%
7	VermontState	1.25	$48,670	$47,483	35%
8	IndianaState	1.21	$41,740	$46,122	30%
9	MissouriState	1.20	$40,560	$45,779	31%
10	MississippiState	1.16	$37,280	$43,962	29%
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.14	$41,890	$43,275	46%
12	KansasState	1.13	$38,800	$43,111	32%
13	South CarolinaState	1.12	$39,340	$42,761	38%
14	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.12	$40,970	$42,766	44%
15	WisconsinState	1.11	$39,010	$42,264	33%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.11	$39,300	$42,349	39%
17	New YorkState	1.08	$46,190	$41,058	48%
18	AlabamaState	1.06	$35,160	$40,367	33%
19	GeorgiaState	1.06	$37,480	$40,128	45%
20	OklahomaState	1.04	$34,910	$39,446	33%
21	OhioState	1.03	$35,360	$39,115	35%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$36,840	$37,901	52%
23	MassachusettsState	0.97	$39,970	$36,839	68%
24	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$35,560	$36,660	44%
25	IllinoisState	0.95	$35,360	$36,304	44%
26	FloridaState	0.91	$35,150	$34,631	59%
27	CaliforniaState	0.90	$37,840	$34,182	72%
28	ConnecticutState	0.88	$35,970	$33,429	52%
29	WashingtonState	0.88	$35,960	$33,514	63%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.86	$34,000	$32,850	56%
31	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$37,500	$32,189	72%
32	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$35,140	$32,387	70%
33	New JerseyState	0.84	$34,600	$31,801	62%
34	VirginiaState	0.83	$32,470	$31,372	58%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.82	$30,010	$31,195	62%
36	ArizonaState	0.81	$31,110	$30,833	58%
37	TexasState	0.80	$29,130	$30,471	57%
38	TennesseeState	0.78	$27,030	$29,541	56%

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