Best Cities for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Minings

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface minings 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	North DakotaState	1.70	$90,380	$97,603	13%
2	WyomingState	1.46	$78,230	$84,118	15%
3	New MexicoState	1.45	$76,350	$82,989	16%
4	IllinoisState	1.44	$80,600	$82,752	20%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.42	$81,180	$81,588	22%
6	New JerseyState	1.29	$80,310	$73,814	27%
7	West VirginiaState	1.27	$61,330	$72,838	16%
8	AlaskaState	1.25	$74,680	$71,601	22%
9	MassachusettsState	1.22	$76,070	$70,111	36%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.20	$82,560	$68,686	46%
11	IndianaState	1.19	$61,910	$68,409	20%
12	MontanaState	1.19	$65,850	$68,309	21%
13	CaliforniaState	1.17	$74,500	$67,299	36%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.17	$76,110	$67,057	40%
15	IowaState	1.16	$59,390	$66,581	19%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$59,040	$64,737	25%
17	MissouriState	1.12	$56,760	$64,063	22%
18	OhioState	1.12	$58,240	$64,425	22%
19	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.12	$73,300	$64,129	36%
20	MichiganState	1.11	$59,040	$63,965	23%
21	NebraskaState	1.11	$58,370	$63,792	21%
22	NevadaState	1.11	$63,810	$63,683	27%
23	WisconsinState	1.10	$58,280	$63,142	22%
24	MinnesotaState	1.09	$61,260	$62,510	25%
25	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.09	$59,860	$62,484	30%
26	North CarolinaState	1.08	$58,620	$62,097	27%
27	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$57,870	$61,893	27%
28	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$66,160	$61,373	33%
29	ConnecticutState	1.06	$65,710	$61,069	29%
30	IdahoState	1.06	$58,670	$60,798	25%
31	ArizonaState	1.04	$60,310	$59,772	30%
32	OregonState	1.04	$61,280	$59,495	31%
33	WashingtonState	1.04	$64,270	$59,897	35%
34	LouisianaState	1.03	$53,510	$59,390	24%
35	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$59,590	$59,294	30%
36	VermontState	1.02	$59,790	$58,332	29%
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$56,460	$58,326	34%
38	ColoradoState	1.01	$61,020	$57,894	36%
39	MississippiState	1.00	$48,490	$57,182	22%
40	South CarolinaState	1.00	$52,580	$57,152	29%
41	VirginiaState	1.00	$59,480	$57,469	32%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$59,280	$57,275	32%
43	MaineState	0.98	$55,890	$56,002	28%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$53,800	$55,925	35%
45	New HampshireState	0.96	$58,540	$55,226	32%
46	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$64,400	$55,279	42%
47	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$51,210	$55,362	28%
48	AlabamaState	0.95	$47,770	$54,845	24%
49	KansasState	0.95	$48,950	$54,389	25%
50	GeorgiaState	0.94	$50,290	$53,844	34%
51	KentuckyState	0.94	$47,780	$53,989	24%
52	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$52,350	$53,969	30%
53	TennesseeState	0.94	$49,500	$54,098	30%
54	UtahState	0.94	$54,330	$54,222	33%
55	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$61,040	$54,113	39%
56	ArkansasState	0.93	$46,170	$53,499	23%
57	OklahomaState	0.93	$47,100	$53,220	25%
58	South DakotaState	0.93	$48,250	$53,139	24%
59	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$56,470	$53,374	36%
60	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$51,780	$53,272	37%
61	MarylandState	0.92	$57,610	$52,756	35%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$47,970	$52,141	33%
63	New YorkState	0.90	$58,120	$51,662	38%
64	FloridaState	0.89	$51,990	$51,222	40%
65	TexasState	0.89	$49,000	$51,255	34%
66	DelawareState	0.81	$46,900	$46,436	35%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.78	$48,770	$44,949	50%

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