Best Cities for Food Processing Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food processing workers, all others 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	KansasState	1.29	$46,060	$51,178	27%
2	MissouriState	1.25	$44,050	$49,718	28%
3	North DakotaState	1.23	$45,120	$48,726	26%
4	IdahoState	1.22	$46,820	$48,518	31%
5	IowaState	1.18	$41,740	$46,794	27%
6	TennesseeState	1.18	$42,690	$46,656	35%
7	IllinoisState	1.17	$45,340	$46,550	35%
8	WyomingState	1.16	$42,740	$45,957	28%
9	IndianaState	1.15	$41,250	$45,580	31%
10	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$42,530	$45,830	36%
11	ArizonaState	1.13	$45,330	$44,926	40%
12	MississippiState	1.13	$38,150	$44,988	28%
13	West VirginiaState	1.13	$37,750	$44,834	27%
14	ColoradoState	1.12	$46,930	$44,526	47%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.12	$42,840	$44,532	44%
16	ArkansasState	1.11	$37,840	$43,847	28%
17	WisconsinState	1.11	$40,590	$43,976	32%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$43,700	$43,920	41%
19	OhioState	1.10	$39,470	$43,662	32%
20	OklahomaState	1.10	$38,530	$43,537	30%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.10	$39,740	$43,575	37%
22	AlabamaState	1.09	$37,510	$43,065	31%
23	New HampshireState	1.08	$45,410	$42,840	42%
24	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$41,620	$42,907	37%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$39,890	$42,663	39%
26	KentuckyState	1.07	$37,450	$42,316	31%
27	MinnesotaState	1.07	$41,800	$42,653	37%
28	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$39,290	$42,476	36%
29	MichiganState	1.06	$38,750	$41,983	35%
30	TexasState	1.06	$40,150	$41,998	41%
31	VermontState	1.06	$43,300	$42,244	39%
32	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$47,800	$41,820	55%
33	UtahState	1.04	$41,400	$41,317	43%
34	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$38,090	$41,402	41%
35	FloridaState	1.03	$41,390	$40,778	50%
36	WashingtonState	1.03	$43,980	$40,988	52%
37	GeorgiaState	1.02	$37,810	$40,482	45%
38	South CarolinaState	1.02	$37,060	$40,283	41%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$38,850	$40,553	46%
40	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$39,670	$40,274	52%
41	MassachusettsState	1.00	$43,200	$39,816	63%
42	North CarolinaState	1.00	$37,360	$39,576	42%
43	MontanaState	0.99	$37,740	$39,149	36%
44	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$40,460	$39,092	47%
45	DelawareState	0.98	$39,470	$39,079	41%
46	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$44,310	$39,040	69%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$37,910	$39,002	50%
48	MaineState	0.97	$38,270	$38,347	41%
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$41,740	$38,470	59%
50	New YorkState	0.96	$42,920	$38,151	52%
51	New MexicoState	0.95	$34,560	$37,565	36%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$36,660	$37,872	53%
53	OregonState	0.93	$38,170	$37,058	50%
54	VirginiaState	0.92	$37,810	$36,531	50%
55	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.91	$43,200	$35,940	87%
56	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$39,640	$35,142	60%
57	ConnecticutState	0.88	$37,450	$34,805	50%
58	CaliforniaState	0.87	$38,230	$34,535	71%
59	LouisianaState	0.87	$31,230	$34,661	40%
60	Rhode IslandState	0.87	$34,770	$34,597	52%
61	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.86	$36,640	$33,989	59%
62	MarylandState	0.83	$35,870	$32,848	56%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$34,860	$32,949	58%
64	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.81	$37,280	$32,000	73%
65	New JerseyState	0.80	$34,670	$31,866	62%
66	NevadaState	0.76	$30,120	$30,060	58%

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