Best Cities for First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where first-line supervisors of production and operating workerss 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	1.31	$90,390	$97,194	13%
2	LouisianaState	1.16	$77,520	$86,038	16%
3	AlabamaState	1.13	$73,060	$83,881	16%
4	IowaState	1.13	$74,750	$83,800	15%
5	South CarolinaState	1.13	$77,500	$84,239	19%
6	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.12	$77,080	$83,060	20%
7	KansasState	1.11	$74,480	$82,756	17%
8	MissouriState	1.11	$73,210	$82,630	17%
9	North DakotaState	1.11	$76,350	$82,451	15%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$75,490	$82,774	19%
11	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.11	$76,690	$82,908	18%
12	IndianaState	1.10	$73,950	$81,713	17%
13	KentuckyState	1.10	$72,490	$81,910	16%
14	West VirginiaState	1.10	$68,990	$81,936	15%
15	MississippiState	1.09	$68,720	$81,038	16%
16	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$81,650	$81,244	22%
17	WisconsinState	1.09	$74,840	$81,083	17%
18	MinnesotaState	1.08	$78,550	$80,153	20%
19	South DakotaState	1.08	$73,040	$80,441	16%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$79,820	$80,221	22%
21	OhioState	1.07	$72,160	$79,823	17%
22	MaineState	1.06	$78,970	$79,128	20%
23	NebraskaState	1.06	$72,200	$78,907	17%
24	OklahomaState	1.06	$70,000	$79,096	17%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$74,090	$79,241	21%
26	DelawareState	1.05	$79,100	$78,317	21%
27	MichiganState	1.05	$72,170	$78,191	19%
28	ConnecticutState	1.04	$83,150	$77,277	23%
29	IllinoisState	1.04	$75,200	$77,207	21%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$74,990	$77,309	21%
31	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$74,080	$77,328	24%
32	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$79,520	$76,831	24%
33	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$70,500	$76,630	22%
34	ColoradoState	1.01	$78,890	$74,848	28%
35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$89,970	$74,850	42%
36	AlaskaState	1.00	$77,960	$74,746	21%
37	ArizonaState	1.00	$75,330	$74,658	24%
38	New HampshireState	1.00	$79,310	$74,821	24%
39	New JerseyState	1.00	$81,110	$74,550	27%
40	GeorgiaState	0.99	$69,170	$74,058	25%
41	IdahoState	0.99	$70,890	$73,461	20%
42	MassachusettsState	0.99	$79,920	$73,659	34%
43	North CarolinaState	0.99	$69,640	$73,771	22%
44	TexasState	0.99	$70,140	$73,368	24%
45	VermontState	0.99	$75,540	$73,698	23%
46	WashingtonState	0.99	$79,310	$73,914	29%
47	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$71,310	$73,667	27%
48	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$77,970	$73,696	26%
49	ArkansasState	0.98	$63,090	$73,105	17%
50	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$82,660	$72,828	37%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$70,470	$73,254	26%
52	MarylandState	0.97	$78,520	$71,905	26%
53	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$69,940	$71,955	27%
54	MontanaState	0.96	$68,760	$71,328	20%
55	OregonState	0.96	$73,580	$71,437	26%
56	TennesseeState	0.96	$65,310	$71,377	23%
57	VirginiaState	0.96	$74,150	$71,643	25%
58	UtahState	0.95	$71,220	$71,078	25%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$76,510	$70,974	28%
60	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.95	$80,460	$70,394	33%
61	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$80,030	$70,017	32%
62	New MexicoState	0.94	$64,640	$70,261	19%
63	New YorkState	0.94	$78,580	$69,849	28%
64	CaliforniaState	0.93	$76,840	$69,413	35%
65	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$77,990	$69,140	31%
66	NevadaState	0.92	$68,270	$68,134	26%
67	HawaiiState	0.88	$71,990	$65,445	40%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$64,510	$65,492	32%
69	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$74,740	$64,155	36%
70	FloridaState	0.85	$63,950	$63,005	32%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$63,720	$58,728	38%

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