Best Cities for Engineers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where engineers, 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	1.43	$162,070	$176,163	8%
2	AlabamaState	1.42	$152,550	$175,144	8%
3	VirginiaState	1.16	$148,160	$143,150	13%
4	West VirginiaState	1.15	$118,800	$141,093	8%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$169,650	$141,140	22%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$126,250	$138,432	12%
7	AlaskaState	1.11	$142,390	$136,520	12%
8	IdahoState	1.10	$130,970	$135,720	11%
9	OklahomaState	1.10	$119,810	$135,379	10%
10	IndianaState	1.09	$120,880	$133,569	10%
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$151,340	$134,167	16%
12	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$151,920	$132,913	17%
13	OhioState	1.08	$120,470	$133,263	10%
14	MichiganState	1.07	$121,000	$131,094	11%
15	MississippiState	1.07	$111,030	$130,932	10%
16	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$117,620	$127,848	13%
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$122,570	$126,622	16%
18	ColoradoState	1.02	$132,590	$125,797	17%
19	WashingtonState	1.02	$134,570	$125,415	17%
20	South DakotaState	1.01	$112,260	$123,634	10%
21	VermontState	1.00	$126,550	$123,463	14%
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$118,230	$123,413	15%
23	New JerseyState	0.99	$132,450	$121,737	16%
24	TexasState	0.99	$115,810	$121,140	14%
25	WyomingState	0.99	$113,050	$121,559	10%
26	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$112,420	$121,535	13%
27	GeorgiaState	0.98	$112,260	$120,193	15%
28	MaineState	0.98	$120,430	$120,671	13%
29	MassachusettsState	0.98	$131,260	$120,977	21%
30	New HampshireState	0.98	$128,130	$120,877	15%
31	South CarolinaState	0.98	$110,490	$120,098	14%
32	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$120,040	$120,643	15%
33	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$137,430	$120,236	19%
34	MarylandState	0.97	$129,770	$118,837	16%
35	North CarolinaState	0.97	$112,450	$119,121	14%
36	OregonState	0.97	$123,220	$119,631	16%
37	WisconsinState	0.97	$110,360	$119,567	12%
38	CaliforniaState	0.96	$130,850	$118,202	21%
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$133,940	$118,009	23%
40	MissouriState	0.95	$102,980	$116,230	12%
41	Rhode IslandState	0.95	$117,080	$116,498	15%
42	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$126,380	$117,236	17%
43	ConnecticutState	0.94	$124,110	$115,344	15%
44	IowaState	0.94	$103,090	$115,572	11%
45	IllinoisState	0.93	$111,930	$114,918	14%
46	KentuckyState	0.92	$99,830	$112,802	12%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$110,010	$113,179	17%
48	HawaiiState	0.91	$122,800	$111,636	23%
49	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$108,950	$112,320	14%
50	MinnesotaState	0.90	$108,850	$111,071	14%
51	UtahState	0.90	$110,320	$110,100	16%
52	LouisianaState	0.89	$99,070	$109,956	13%
53	North DakotaState	0.88	$100,250	$108,261	12%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.88	$113,880	$107,637	18%
55	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$125,060	$107,348	22%
56	TennesseeState	0.86	$96,640	$105,617	16%
57	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$99,180	$106,075	16%
58	New YorkState	0.85	$117,600	$104,533	19%
59	FloridaState	0.84	$105,410	$103,852	20%
60	NevadaState	0.84	$103,780	$103,573	17%
61	DelawareState	0.83	$103,580	$102,554	16%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.83	$98,000	$101,871	19%
63	ArizonaState	0.82	$102,280	$101,368	18%
64	MontanaState	0.82	$97,470	$101,110	14%
65	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.82	$93,330	$100,571	17%
66	NebraskaState	0.79	$88,490	$96,710	14%
67	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.77	$97,590	$94,290	20%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$92,790	$94,203	22%
69	ArkansasState	0.73	$76,940	$89,154	14%
70	KansasState	0.69	$76,100	$84,556	16%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.69	$91,790	$84,599	27%

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