Best Cities for Etchers and Engraverss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where etchers and engraverss 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.58	$63,860	$68,299	24%
2	VermontState	1.47	$65,380	$63,785	26%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.45	$63,250	$62,935	29%
4	ArizonaState	1.37	$59,940	$59,405	30%
5	KansasState	1.33	$52,000	$57,778	24%
6	OhioState	1.29	$50,430	$55,785	25%
7	WisconsinState	1.26	$50,290	$54,485	26%
8	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.26	$57,770	$54,603	35%
9	ArkansasState	1.25	$46,780	$54,206	23%
10	New JerseyState	1.23	$58,000	$53,309	37%
11	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.18	$52,980	$51,188	36%
12	MarylandState	1.14	$53,680	$49,158	38%
13	PennsylvaniaState	1.14	$47,790	$49,268	33%
14	IndianaState	1.13	$44,360	$49,017	29%
15	IowaState	1.11	$42,950	$48,150	27%
16	MaineState	1.10	$47,520	$47,615	33%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.10	$43,310	$47,489	34%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$44,110	$47,686	32%
19	MinnesotaState	1.09	$46,280	$47,224	33%
20	MassachusettsState	1.08	$50,710	$46,737	53%
21	MichiganState	1.08	$43,180	$46,782	31%
22	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$56,470	$46,980	67%
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$46,280	$46,513	38%
24	New YorkState	1.06	$51,540	$45,813	43%
25	IllinoisState	1.03	$43,450	$44,610	36%
26	South DakotaState	1.03	$40,590	$44,703	28%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$50,710	$44,678	60%
28	IdahoState	1.02	$42,640	$44,187	34%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$41,600	$43,424	43%
30	GeorgiaState	0.99	$40,190	$43,030	42%
31	MissouriState	0.99	$37,990	$42,878	33%
32	CaliforniaState	0.97	$46,480	$41,987	58%
33	ConnecticutState	0.97	$45,050	$41,868	42%
34	FloridaState	0.96	$42,110	$41,488	49%
35	North CarolinaState	0.96	$39,270	$41,600	40%
36	TennesseeState	0.96	$38,230	$41,781	39%
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$46,970	$41,640	51%
38	KentuckyState	0.95	$36,540	$41,288	31%
39	OklahomaState	0.94	$35,890	$40,554	32%
40	WashingtonState	0.94	$43,680	$40,708	52%
41	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$43,070	$39,696	57%
42	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$45,250	$39,589	58%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$45,520	$39,073	60%
44	ColoradoState	0.89	$40,800	$38,710	54%
45	VirginiaState	0.88	$39,360	$38,029	48%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.87	$37,310	$37,878	55%
47	OregonState	0.85	$37,780	$36,680	51%
48	LouisianaState	0.84	$32,880	$36,493	38%
49	AlabamaState	0.82	$31,030	$35,626	37%
50	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.81	$37,780	$35,046	57%
51	TexasState	0.75	$31,180	$32,615	53%
52	South CarolinaState	0.71	$28,300	$30,761	53%

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