Best Cities for Forest and Conservation Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where forest and conservation 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	IdahoState	1.41	$59,460	$61,617	24%
2	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.27	$51,330	$55,492	28%
3	ArkansasState	1.26	$47,310	$54,820	22%
4	OhioState	1.23	$48,470	$53,617	26%
5	VirginiaState	1.21	$54,560	$52,715	35%
6	PennsylvaniaState	1.19	$50,250	$51,804	31%
7	HawaiiState	1.17	$56,330	$51,209	51%
8	Columbus, OHMetro	1.17	$47,730	$51,048	33%
9	South CarolinaState	1.10	$44,050	$47,880	34%
10	MassachusettsState	1.09	$51,890	$47,825	52%
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$51,300	$45,198	60%
12	OregonState	1.02	$46,010	$44,670	42%
13	LouisianaState	1.01	$39,900	$44,284	32%
14	TennesseeState	1.01	$40,320	$44,066	37%
15	MissouriState	0.96	$37,170	$41,953	33%
16	South DakotaState	0.96	$38,210	$42,081	30%
17	WashingtonState	0.95	$44,430	$41,407	51%
18	MinnesotaState	0.92	$39,590	$40,398	39%
19	New MexicoState	0.91	$36,370	$39,533	35%
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$45,510	$39,816	58%
21	CaliforniaState	0.90	$43,680	$39,458	62%
22	WisconsinState	0.90	$36,420	$39,458	36%
23	New JerseyState	0.88	$41,600	$38,235	52%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.88	$41,610	$38,599	52%
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.87	$39,490	$38,155	48%
26	IowaState	0.86	$33,600	$37,668	34%
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$43,680	$37,494	62%
28	GeorgiaState	0.84	$34,150	$36,563	50%
29	FloridaState	0.83	$36,780	$36,236	56%
30	ColoradoState	0.82	$37,690	$35,759	59%
31	NevadaState	0.82	$35,760	$35,689	49%
32	MontanaState	0.77	$32,600	$33,817	42%
33	TexasState	0.73	$30,470	$31,872	55%
34	ConnecticutState	0.72	$34,010	$31,608	55%

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