Best Cities for Electrical Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where electrical engineerss 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	New MexicoState	1.43	$158,520	$172,304	8%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$187,060	$155,624	20%
3	AlabamaState	1.20	$125,630	$144,237	9%
4	LouisianaState	1.14	$123,710	$137,303	10%
5	TexasState	1.12	$129,450	$135,408	13%
6	West VirginiaState	1.12	$113,420	$134,703	9%
7	IdahoState	1.11	$129,340	$134,031	11%
8	MissouriState	1.11	$118,670	$133,939	10%
9	CaliforniaState	1.08	$144,040	$130,117	19%
10	New HampshireState	1.06	$135,710	$128,028	14%
11	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$124,390	$127,973	15%
12	DelawareState	1.04	$126,970	$125,713	13%
13	District of ColumbiaState	1.04	$143,000	$125,109	18%
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$114,390	$125,428	13%
15	MississippiState	1.03	$104,990	$123,809	10%
16	WashingtonState	1.03	$132,710	$123,681	17%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$127,730	$123,411	15%
18	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$140,210	$122,668	19%
19	OklahomaState	1.01	$107,760	$121,763	11%
20	OregonState	1.01	$125,160	$121,515	15%
21	AlaskaState	1.00	$125,970	$120,777	13%
22	WyomingState	1.00	$111,740	$120,151	11%
23	North DakotaState	0.99	$110,810	$119,665	11%
24	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$110,740	$119,332	14%
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$139,780	$119,983	19%
26	IowaState	0.98	$105,820	$118,632	11%
27	MassachusettsState	0.98	$127,720	$117,714	21%
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$117,230	$117,819	15%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$128,080	$118,813	17%
30	NebraskaState	0.97	$107,260	$117,224	12%
31	North CarolinaState	0.97	$110,130	$116,663	14%
32	New JerseyState	0.96	$125,370	$115,230	17%
33	ColoradoState	0.95	$120,760	$114,573	18%
34	KansasState	0.95	$102,630	$114,033	12%
35	MaineState	0.95	$114,620	$114,850	14%
36	MarylandState	0.95	$125,150	$114,606	16%
37	MichiganState	0.95	$106,070	$114,919	13%
38	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$110,820	$114,247	14%
39	TennesseeState	0.95	$104,450	$114,153	14%
40	VirginiaState	0.95	$119,030	$115,005	16%
41	IndianaState	0.94	$102,670	$113,448	12%
42	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$128,610	$113,313	24%
43	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$104,990	$113,503	13%
44	ArkansasState	0.93	$96,860	$112,236	11%
45	MinnesotaState	0.93	$109,510	$111,745	14%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$103,520	$112,522	15%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$126,420	$112,074	19%
48	IllinoisState	0.92	$107,860	$110,739	15%
49	KentuckyState	0.92	$98,550	$111,356	12%
50	OhioState	0.92	$100,620	$111,305	12%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$116,650	$110,255	17%
52	Columbus, OHMetro	0.91	$102,380	$109,497	15%
53	South DakotaState	0.90	$98,980	$109,009	12%
54	VermontState	0.90	$111,310	$108,595	15%
55	WisconsinState	0.90	$99,700	$108,017	13%
56	NevadaState	0.89	$107,400	$107,186	16%
57	South CarolinaState	0.89	$98,440	$107,000	15%
58	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$103,360	$107,891	17%
59	New YorkState	0.88	$119,010	$105,787	19%
60	UtahState	0.87	$105,720	$105,509	17%
61	FloridaState	0.86	$104,780	$103,232	20%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$99,790	$103,732	19%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$102,110	$103,665	20%
64	ArizonaState	0.83	$100,550	$99,653	18%
65	ConnecticutState	0.80	$104,160	$96,803	18%
66	HawaiiState	0.80	$106,350	$96,682	27%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$102,800	$94,747	24%
68	MontanaState	0.75	$87,360	$90,622	15%

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