Best Cities for Environmental Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where environmental 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	LouisianaState	1.35	$130,510	$144,850	10%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.27	$127,190	$136,032	12%
3	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.26	$123,710	$134,467	13%
4	NebraskaState	1.23	$120,620	$131,825	10%
5	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.22	$126,650	$130,298	15%
6	TexasState	1.20	$123,060	$128,724	14%
7	OhioState	1.17	$113,180	$125,199	11%
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.17	$129,390	$125,014	15%
9	OregonState	1.15	$127,100	$123,398	15%
10	IdahoState	1.14	$117,520	$121,782	12%
11	KentuckyState	1.13	$107,520	$121,492	11%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$110,520	$121,184	13%
13	AlabamaState	1.10	$102,650	$117,853	11%
14	CaliforniaState	1.10	$130,410	$117,805	21%
15	MinnesotaState	1.10	$115,750	$118,112	13%
16	New MexicoState	1.10	$108,360	$117,783	12%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.10	$127,080	$117,885	17%
18	WashingtonState	1.09	$125,460	$116,925	18%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.09	$115,750	$116,332	15%
20	FloridaState	1.07	$116,840	$115,113	18%
21	WyomingState	1.07	$106,330	$114,333	11%
22	MichiganState	1.06	$105,080	$113,846	13%
23	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$128,410	$112,345	21%
24	IllinoisState	1.04	$107,990	$110,873	15%
25	MissouriState	1.03	$98,170	$110,801	13%
26	NevadaState	1.02	$109,720	$109,501	16%
27	South DakotaState	1.02	$98,890	$108,910	12%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$127,900	$109,785	21%
29	ConnecticutState	1.00	$114,710	$106,608	16%
30	MassachusettsState	1.00	$115,800	$106,728	23%
31	MississippiState	1.00	$91,100	$107,429	12%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$102,930	$106,996	18%
33	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$120,580	$106,897	20%
34	AlaskaState	0.99	$110,220	$105,676	15%
35	IowaState	0.99	$94,830	$106,312	12%
36	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$103,330	$106,526	15%
37	TennesseeState	0.99	$97,190	$106,219	16%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$98,010	$105,957	14%
39	KansasState	0.98	$94,070	$104,522	13%
40	North CarolinaState	0.98	$99,440	$105,339	16%
41	South CarolinaState	0.98	$96,140	$104,500	16%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.98	$97,180	$104,720	16%
43	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$125,550	$104,451	30%
44	MontanaState	0.97	$100,140	$103,880	14%
45	OklahomaState	0.97	$92,090	$104,056	13%
46	GeorgiaState	0.96	$96,530	$103,351	18%
47	UtahState	0.96	$103,380	$103,174	17%
48	ColoradoState	0.95	$106,890	$101,414	21%
49	IndianaState	0.95	$92,460	$102,166	14%
50	VirginiaState	0.95	$104,940	$101,391	18%
51	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$101,140	$100,637	18%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$96,820	$100,021	20%
53	ArkansasState	0.92	$85,280	$98,818	12%
54	HawaiiState	0.92	$107,880	$98,073	27%
55	North DakotaState	0.92	$91,370	$98,672	13%
56	West VirginiaState	0.92	$83,200	$98,812	12%
57	WisconsinState	0.91	$89,990	$97,497	14%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$109,620	$96,581	28%
59	DelawareState	0.88	$95,720	$94,772	17%
60	MaineState	0.88	$93,930	$94,118	17%
61	New JerseyState	0.88	$102,630	$94,329	21%
62	ArizonaState	0.87	$93,970	$93,132	19%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.86	$97,570	$92,221	21%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$99,600	$91,797	25%
65	New YorkState	0.84	$101,270	$90,018	22%
66	VermontState	0.84	$92,580	$90,322	18%
67	MarylandState	0.83	$97,570	$89,350	21%
68	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.81	$82,840	$86,472	22%
69	New HampshireState	0.78	$88,610	$83,594	21%

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