Best Cities for Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where environmental engineering technologists and technicianss 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	WashingtonState	1.56	$100,050	$93,243	23%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.53	$105,070	$91,925	25%
3	TennesseeState	1.46	$80,100	$87,541	19%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.46	$105,250	$87,562	36%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.39	$77,130	$83,384	18%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.37	$88,790	$82,365	24%
7	OregonState	1.31	$80,770	$78,417	24%
8	AlaskaState	1.25	$77,860	$74,650	21%
9	NevadaState	1.25	$75,330	$75,180	23%
10	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.21	$67,560	$72,802	23%
11	OklahomaState	1.17	$61,900	$69,944	19%
12	KentuckyState	1.16	$61,470	$69,458	19%
13	AlabamaState	1.15	$60,170	$69,082	19%
14	South CarolinaState	1.15	$63,200	$68,696	24%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.14	$65,760	$68,358	28%
16	LouisianaState	1.13	$60,840	$67,525	21%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$62,600	$66,952	25%
18	New MexicoState	1.11	$61,170	$66,489	21%
19	IowaState	1.10	$58,690	$65,796	19%
20	KansasState	1.10	$59,420	$66,022	21%
21	ArizonaState	1.08	$65,420	$64,836	27%
22	GeorgiaState	1.08	$60,500	$64,775	28%
23	IdahoState	1.08	$62,240	$64,497	23%
24	MaineState	1.08	$64,660	$64,790	24%
25	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$60,500	$62,500	32%
26	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$66,200	$62,571	30%
27	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$62,050	$62,362	29%
28	MarylandState	1.03	$67,510	$61,822	30%
29	MassachusettsState	1.03	$66,860	$61,622	40%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$59,920	$61,773	26%
31	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$59,170	$61,764	30%
32	MinnesotaState	1.02	$60,110	$61,337	26%
33	MontanaState	1.02	$58,870	$61,068	23%
34	UtahState	1.01	$60,410	$60,289	30%
35	NebraskaState	1.00	$54,690	$59,770	23%
36	TexasState	1.00	$57,150	$59,780	29%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.00	$55,200	$60,000	28%
38	South DakotaState	0.99	$53,960	$59,427	21%
39	IndianaState	0.98	$53,110	$58,685	24%
40	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$56,950	$58,591	33%
41	ColoradoState	0.96	$60,740	$57,628	36%
42	OhioState	0.96	$51,830	$57,334	24%
43	North CarolinaState	0.95	$53,660	$56,843	29%
44	West VirginiaState	0.94	$47,650	$56,591	21%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$63,720	$56,141	48%
46	New JerseyState	0.93	$60,740	$55,827	36%
47	New YorkState	0.93	$62,540	$55,591	35%
48	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$50,800	$55,702	29%
49	MichiganState	0.92	$50,800	$55,038	26%
50	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$57,110	$55,179	34%
51	CaliforniaState	0.90	$60,010	$54,210	45%
52	WisconsinState	0.89	$49,190	$53,294	26%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$57,710	$53,189	42%
54	ArkansasState	0.88	$45,290	$52,480	23%
55	IllinoisState	0.88	$51,540	$52,916	31%
56	FloridaState	0.85	$51,970	$51,202	40%
57	VirginiaState	0.84	$52,330	$50,560	36%
58	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$58,830	$50,498	46%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$47,750	$48,477	43%
60	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.80	$54,390	$48,218	44%
61	HawaiiState	0.79	$51,810	$47,100	55%
62	MississippiState	0.72	$36,680	$43,255	29%
63	New HampshireState	0.63	$39,880	$37,623	48%

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