Best Cities for First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairerss 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	1.23	$90,600	$97,840	13%
2	AlaskaState	1.18	$98,110	$94,065	17%
3	WyomingState	1.18	$87,460	$94,043	14%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$92,200	$92,663	19%
5	WisconsinState	1.12	$82,570	$89,458	16%
6	MinnesotaState	1.11	$87,160	$88,939	18%
7	South DakotaState	1.11	$80,810	$88,998	14%
8	IndianaState	1.10	$79,650	$88,011	16%
9	IowaState	1.10	$78,340	$87,825	15%
10	WashingtonState	1.10	$94,420	$87,996	24%
11	ConnecticutState	1.09	$94,050	$87,407	20%
12	KansasState	1.09	$78,390	$87,100	16%
13	KentuckyState	1.09	$76,760	$86,734	15%
14	MissouriState	1.09	$77,470	$87,438	16%
15	OhioState	1.09	$78,730	$87,091	16%
16	OklahomaState	1.09	$77,040	$87,051	15%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$79,200	$86,842	18%
18	AlabamaState	1.08	$74,830	$85,913	15%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$80,800	$86,417	19%
20	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$79,480	$85,924	18%
21	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$93,200	$86,456	23%
22	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$104,070	$86,581	36%
23	IllinoisState	1.07	$83,180	$85,400	19%
24	NebraskaState	1.07	$77,850	$85,082	16%
25	New JerseyState	1.07	$92,680	$85,184	23%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$79,060	$85,194	20%
27	CaliforniaState	1.06	$93,660	$84,607	29%
28	MassachusettsState	1.06	$92,250	$85,023	29%
29	MichiganState	1.06	$77,810	$84,301	17%
30	MontanaState	1.06	$81,440	$84,481	17%
31	New MexicoState	1.06	$77,550	$84,293	16%
32	OregonState	1.06	$86,970	$84,437	22%
33	West VirginiaState	1.06	$71,360	$84,751	14%
34	LouisianaState	1.05	$75,550	$83,851	17%
35	MississippiState	1.05	$70,900	$83,608	15%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$94,970	$83,674	32%
37	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$80,070	$83,580	22%
38	ArkansasState	1.04	$71,460	$82,804	15%
39	TennesseeState	1.04	$75,830	$82,874	20%
40	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$85,870	$82,966	22%
41	DelawareState	1.03	$83,250	$82,426	20%
42	GeorgiaState	1.03	$77,010	$82,452	22%
43	New HampshireState	1.03	$87,560	$82,604	22%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$75,790	$82,380	21%
45	North CarolinaState	1.02	$76,800	$81,356	20%
46	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$79,400	$81,856	20%
47	South CarolinaState	1.02	$75,120	$81,652	20%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$93,230	$81,566	28%
49	New YorkState	1.01	$91,150	$81,022	24%
50	TexasState	1.01	$76,760	$80,293	22%
51	VermontState	1.01	$83,050	$81,024	21%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$78,310	$80,899	25%
53	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$78,740	$81,008	24%
54	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$93,870	$80,575	29%
55	HawaiiState	1.00	$87,550	$79,591	33%
56	NevadaState	1.00	$79,860	$79,701	22%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$76,680	$79,709	24%
58	ColoradoState	0.99	$83,260	$78,994	27%
59	MaineState	0.99	$79,260	$79,419	20%
60	UtahState	0.99	$78,930	$78,772	23%
61	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$78,840	$78,448	23%
62	VirginiaState	0.98	$80,770	$78,039	23%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$82,690	$78,157	24%
64	IdahoState	0.97	$74,940	$77,658	19%
65	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$75,880	$77,036	27%
66	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$86,370	$76,569	28%
67	ArizonaState	0.95	$76,240	$75,560	24%
68	FloridaState	0.94	$75,900	$74,778	27%
69	MarylandState	0.94	$82,330	$75,394	24%
70	District of ColumbiaState	0.91	$83,460	$73,018	30%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$77,310	$71,253	32%

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