Best Cities for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where forest fire inspectors and prevention specialistss 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	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.59	$105,460	$90,524	26%
2	UtahState	1.58	$90,020	$89,840	20%
3	CaliforniaState	1.55	$97,370	$87,958	28%
4	LouisianaState	1.47	$75,480	$83,774	17%
5	OregonState	1.26	$73,530	$71,388	26%
6	OklahomaState	1.23	$61,700	$69,718	19%
7	MaineState	1.20	$68,310	$68,447	23%
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.18	$72,850	$67,143	34%
9	ArizonaState	1.02	$58,570	$58,048	31%
10	New JerseyState	0.93	$57,380	$52,739	38%
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$51,260	$52,955	38%
12	FloridaState	0.90	$51,690	$50,926	40%
13	GeorgiaState	0.90	$48,010	$51,403	35%
14	ArkansasState	0.88	$43,310	$50,185	24%
15	IdahoState	0.86	$47,050	$48,756	31%
16	ColoradoState	0.84	$50,170	$47,600	44%
17	AlabamaState	0.76	$37,430	$42,974	31%
18	MississippiState	0.66	$31,720	$37,406	34%

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