Best Cities for Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all others 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	1.41	$101,750	$110,598	12%
2	MaineState	1.37	$107,060	$107,275	15%
3	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.29	$107,140	$101,267	19%
4	IndianaState	1.25	$88,880	$98,210	14%
5	West VirginiaState	1.23	$81,330	$96,591	12%
6	VirginiaState	1.21	$98,410	$95,082	19%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.20	$94,570	$94,100	19%
8	MississippiState	1.19	$79,350	$93,573	14%
9	NevadaState	1.19	$93,670	$93,483	19%
10	WashingtonState	1.19	$99,720	$92,936	23%
11	MarylandState	1.17	$99,970	$91,548	20%
12	OklahomaState	1.17	$81,330	$91,898	14%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$99,540	$88,245	24%
14	North DakotaState	1.12	$80,990	$87,462	14%
15	South CarolinaState	1.12	$80,540	$87,543	19%
16	AlaskaState	1.10	$89,810	$86,107	18%
17	OhioState	1.10	$77,590	$85,830	16%
18	AlabamaState	1.09	$74,650	$85,706	15%
19	WyomingState	1.09	$79,440	$85,419	15%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$77,710	$85,208	19%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$79,040	$85,172	20%
22	MinnesotaState	1.06	$81,290	$82,949	19%
23	IllinoisState	1.05	$79,800	$81,930	20%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$76,830	$82,171	20%
25	HawaiiState	1.04	$90,040	$81,855	32%
26	MissouriState	1.04	$72,320	$81,625	17%
27	WisconsinState	1.04	$74,940	$81,192	17%
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$81,290	$81,698	22%
29	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$92,750	$81,146	28%
30	New JerseyState	1.03	$87,450	$80,377	25%
31	MichiganState	1.02	$73,960	$80,130	18%
32	ArkansasState	1.01	$68,060	$78,864	15%
33	UtahState	1.01	$79,370	$79,212	23%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$81,470	$78,715	24%
35	TexasState	0.99	$73,860	$77,259	23%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$71,150	$77,337	22%
37	North CarolinaState	0.97	$72,070	$76,345	22%
38	DelawareState	0.96	$75,780	$75,030	21%
39	KentuckyState	0.95	$65,660	$74,192	18%
40	OregonState	0.95	$76,960	$74,718	25%
41	NebraskaState	0.94	$67,200	$73,443	19%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$71,930	$74,002	26%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$79,350	$73,609	27%
44	CaliforniaState	0.93	$80,480	$72,701	34%
45	GeorgiaState	0.93	$68,370	$73,201	25%
46	ColoradoState	0.92	$76,110	$72,211	29%
47	New HampshireState	0.92	$76,720	$72,377	25%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$68,930	$71,062	23%
49	IowaState	0.90	$63,120	$70,762	18%
50	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.90	$84,670	$70,441	45%
51	ConnecticutState	0.89	$74,870	$69,582	25%
52	FloridaState	0.89	$70,500	$69,458	29%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$67,850	$70,093	29%
54	KansasState	0.88	$61,710	$68,567	20%
55	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.88	$63,690	$68,854	22%
56	IdahoState	0.87	$65,790	$68,176	22%
57	MontanaState	0.87	$65,730	$68,185	21%
58	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$64,470	$67,296	28%
59	LouisianaState	0.84	$58,960	$65,438	21%
60	TennesseeState	0.82	$58,700	$64,153	26%
61	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.82	$72,710	$64,062	42%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.80	$61,610	$62,548	34%
63	MassachusettsState	0.79	$67,450	$62,166	40%
64	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.77	$69,890	$59,991	39%
65	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.77	$58,380	$60,686	32%
66	ArizonaState	0.75	$59,580	$59,049	30%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$63,830	$58,829	38%
68	New YorkState	0.74	$65,530	$58,249	34%
69	VermontState	0.66	$52,770	$51,483	32%

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