Best Cities for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouses

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouses 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	WyomingState	1.66	$55,180	$59,333	21%
2	South DakotaState	1.31	$42,260	$46,542	27%
3	NebraskaState	1.21	$39,530	$43,202	32%
4	MontanaState	1.20	$41,390	$42,936	33%
5	IllinoisState	1.18	$41,050	$42,146	38%
6	IowaState	1.18	$37,590	$42,141	30%
7	MichiganState	1.18	$38,680	$41,907	35%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.17	$38,050	$41,721	38%
9	OhioState	1.16	$37,470	$41,449	33%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.16	$38,630	$41,316	40%
11	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.16	$38,130	$41,222	37%
12	IndianaState	1.15	$36,980	$40,862	34%
13	KansasState	1.15	$37,020	$41,133	34%
14	MissouriState	1.15	$36,280	$40,948	34%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.12	$37,020	$39,892	42%
16	MaineState	1.10	$39,060	$39,138	40%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$39,090	$39,286	45%
18	AlabamaState	1.09	$33,870	$38,886	34%
19	MinnesotaState	1.09	$38,080	$38,857	40%
20	ArkansasState	1.07	$32,970	$38,204	32%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$37,010	$38,155	42%
22	South CarolinaState	1.07	$35,110	$38,163	43%
23	WisconsinState	1.07	$35,360	$38,310	37%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$34,630	$37,641	45%
25	KentuckyState	1.05	$33,050	$37,345	35%
26	OklahomaState	1.05	$33,090	$37,390	35%
27	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$37,540	$37,353	48%
28	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$35,930	$37,505	50%
29	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$42,800	$37,445	62%
30	LouisianaState	1.04	$33,260	$36,915	38%
31	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$38,250	$36,957	50%
32	West VirginiaState	1.03	$31,050	$36,876	32%
33	ColoradoState	1.02	$38,170	$36,214	58%
34	New YorkState	1.02	$40,930	$36,382	54%
35	WashingtonState	1.02	$39,170	$36,505	58%
36	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.02	$43,690	$36,348	86%
37	North CarolinaState	1.01	$33,870	$35,879	46%
38	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$34,630	$35,998	54%
39	IdahoState	1.00	$34,470	$35,720	42%
40	MississippiState	1.00	$30,250	$35,672	36%
41	AlaskaState	0.99	$36,780	$35,264	45%
42	MarylandState	0.99	$38,420	$35,183	52%
43	MassachusettsState	0.99	$38,220	$35,226	71%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$34,400	$35,391	55%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$39,750	$35,239	60%
46	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$36,900	$34,877	55%
47	ArizonaState	0.97	$35,080	$34,767	51%
48	New JerseyState	0.97	$37,710	$34,660	57%
49	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$39,080	$34,432	78%
50	ConnecticutState	0.96	$36,950	$34,340	51%
51	TexasState	0.96	$32,840	$34,351	51%
52	VermontState	0.96	$35,170	$34,312	49%
53	VirginiaState	0.96	$35,580	$34,377	53%
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$33,260	$34,360	58%
55	New HampshireState	0.95	$35,920	$33,887	53%
56	New MexicoState	0.95	$31,150	$33,859	40%
57	TennesseeState	0.95	$31,020	$33,902	49%
58	HawaiiState	0.94	$36,990	$33,627	77%
59	North DakotaState	0.94	$31,080	$33,564	38%
60	UtahState	0.94	$33,490	$33,423	53%
61	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$36,000	$33,395	60%
62	NevadaState	0.93	$33,280	$33,214	52%
63	OregonState	0.93	$34,070	$33,078	56%
64	DelawareState	0.92	$33,090	$32,762	49%
65	GeorgiaState	0.91	$30,300	$32,441	56%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$37,930	$32,558	72%
67	CaliforniaState	0.90	$35,580	$32,141	76%
68	FloridaState	0.85	$30,640	$30,187	67%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$29,400	$29,848	70%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$30,540	$28,147	80%

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