Best Cities for Gas Plant Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where gas plant operatorss 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	LouisianaState	1.37	$108,350	$120,255	12%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.36	$108,650	$119,134	13%
3	CaliforniaState	1.34	$130,220	$117,633	21%
4	ArkansasState	1.33	$100,870	$116,883	10%
5	South DakotaState	1.27	$101,450	$111,729	11%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.25	$118,640	$110,056	18%
7	MichiganState	1.24	$100,500	$108,884	13%
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.23	$125,550	$107,768	22%
9	New MexicoState	1.21	$97,660	$106,152	13%
10	OregonState	1.21	$109,760	$106,563	17%
11	IowaState	1.19	$92,970	$104,226	12%
12	North DakotaState	1.19	$96,760	$104,492	12%
13	ArizonaState	1.18	$104,600	$103,667	17%
14	MinnesotaState	1.17	$100,500	$102,551	15%
15	New JerseyState	1.16	$110,900	$101,930	19%
16	ConnecticutState	1.15	$109,060	$101,357	17%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$100,500	$101,005	18%
18	IllinoisState	1.14	$97,810	$100,421	16%
19	MissouriState	1.13	$87,820	$99,120	14%
20	UtahState	1.12	$98,300	$98,104	18%
21	West VirginiaState	1.12	$82,600	$98,100	12%
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.12	$95,430	$98,585	20%
23	MississippiState	1.10	$81,600	$96,226	13%
24	MassachusettsState	1.09	$103,830	$95,696	26%
25	NebraskaState	1.09	$87,790	$95,945	14%
26	IndianaState	1.08	$85,790	$94,796	15%
27	MaineState	1.07	$93,990	$94,178	17%
28	MarylandState	1.07	$102,950	$94,277	20%
29	ColoradoState	1.06	$98,080	$93,055	23%
30	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$89,140	$93,048	20%
31	WisconsinState	1.05	$85,080	$92,178	15%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$104,770	$92,308	29%
33	OhioState	1.03	$82,130	$90,852	15%
34	KansasState	1.02	$80,760	$89,733	15%
35	AlabamaState	1.01	$77,120	$88,542	15%
36	OklahomaState	1.01	$78,310	$88,486	15%
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.01	$99,880	$88,546	24%
38	New YorkState	1.00	$98,390	$87,458	23%
39	WyomingState	1.00	$81,550	$87,688	14%
40	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.00	$81,290	$87,597	19%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$81,600	$88,216	17%
42	GeorgiaState	0.99	$81,220	$86,959	21%
43	MontanaState	0.99	$83,630	$86,753	16%
44	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$81,700	$87,380	19%
45	North CarolinaState	0.98	$81,460	$86,292	19%
46	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$89,430	$86,406	21%
47	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.97	$97,080	$84,934	27%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$80,810	$83,309	19%
49	TexasState	0.95	$79,910	$83,588	21%
50	VirginiaState	0.95	$86,500	$83,575	22%
51	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$81,430	$83,776	23%
52	IdahoState	0.94	$79,280	$82,155	18%
53	WashingtonState	0.89	$83,650	$77,959	27%
54	South CarolinaState	0.84	$67,580	$73,457	22%
55	TennesseeState	0.83	$66,560	$72,743	23%
56	KentuckyState	0.81	$63,070	$71,266	18%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.79	$66,970	$69,615	28%
58	FloridaState	0.75	$67,170	$66,177	31%

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