Best Cities for Fire Inspectors and Investigatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where fire inspectors and investigatorss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.74	$159,220	$132,463	24%
2	WashingtonState	1.51	$122,900	$114,539	19%
3	OregonState	1.47	$115,080	$111,728	17%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.47	$127,920	$111,916	21%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.46	$119,780	$111,113	18%
6	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.28	$94,690	$97,418	20%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.25	$86,630	$94,989	17%
8	NevadaState	1.23	$93,450	$93,263	19%
9	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.23	$98,730	$93,318	20%
10	IowaState	1.21	$81,860	$91,771	14%
11	MarylandState	1.19	$98,730	$90,412	20%
12	AlabamaState	1.18	$78,110	$89,679	15%
13	CaliforniaState	1.18	$99,230	$89,639	27%
14	MissouriState	1.15	$77,240	$87,178	16%
15	North DakotaState	1.14	$80,320	$86,739	15%
16	TexasState	1.14	$82,390	$86,182	20%
17	MinnesotaState	1.13	$84,410	$86,133	18%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.12	$84,410	$84,834	21%
19	MichiganState	1.11	$77,460	$83,922	17%
20	NebraskaState	1.11	$76,770	$83,902	16%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.11	$78,470	$84,558	20%
22	ColoradoState	1.07	$85,750	$81,357	26%
23	IndianaState	1.07	$73,340	$81,039	17%
24	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.07	$88,260	$81,346	28%
25	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.07	$79,700	$80,914	26%
26	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$76,740	$80,104	23%
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$94,140	$80,807	29%
28	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.06	$77,160	$80,208	24%
29	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$78,100	$77,711	23%
30	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$87,630	$77,686	27%
31	ConnecticutState	0.99	$80,490	$74,805	23%
32	IdahoState	0.99	$72,810	$75,451	20%
33	MassachusettsState	0.99	$81,140	$74,783	33%
34	ArizonaState	0.98	$74,780	$74,113	24%
35	FloridaState	0.98	$75,660	$74,542	27%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$68,650	$74,620	23%
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$71,070	$73,419	27%
38	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$83,410	$73,489	37%
39	UtahState	0.96	$72,760	$72,615	25%
40	LouisianaState	0.95	$64,820	$71,942	19%
41	WisconsinState	0.95	$66,600	$72,156	20%
42	KansasState	0.94	$64,290	$71,433	19%
43	New HampshireState	0.93	$75,230	$70,972	25%
44	New MexicoState	0.93	$64,680	$70,304	19%
45	North CarolinaState	0.93	$66,820	$70,784	23%
46	GeorgiaState	0.91	$64,550	$69,111	26%
47	TennesseeState	0.91	$63,400	$69,290	24%
48	VirginiaState	0.90	$70,460	$68,077	27%
49	ArkansasState	0.89	$57,990	$67,196	18%
50	South CarolinaState	0.89	$61,890	$67,272	24%
51	Columbus, OHMetro	0.89	$63,460	$67,872	24%
52	New YorkState	0.87	$73,920	$65,707	30%
53	MississippiState	0.86	$55,260	$65,165	19%
54	OhioState	0.86	$59,280	$65,575	21%
55	IllinoisState	0.84	$62,400	$64,066	25%
56	KentuckyState	0.83	$55,970	$63,243	21%
57	West VirginiaState	0.82	$52,490	$62,340	19%
58	PennsylvaniaState	0.80	$59,080	$60,907	26%
59	MaineState	0.77	$58,240	$58,357	27%
60	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.75	$59,080	$57,082	32%
61	New JerseyState	0.73	$60,100	$55,239	36%
62	OklahomaState	0.56	$37,320	$42,169	31%
63	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.51	$35,790	$38,692	39%

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