Home / Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians / Best Cities Best Cities for Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicianss Cities ranked by purchasing power — where geological technicians, except hydrologic technicianss 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 Maryland State 1.75 $102,090 $93,489 20% 2 Indiana State 1.64 $79,290 $87,613 16% 3 West Virginia State 1.54 $69,350 $82,363 15% 4 Nevada State 1.38 $73,700 $73,553 24% 5 Alaska State 1.37 $76,090 $72,953 22% 6 Nebraska State 1.29 $63,160 $69,027 20% 7 Tennessee State 1.29 $63,050 $68,907 24% 8 Wyoming State 1.27 $63,070 $67,817 19% 9 Louisiana State 1.23 $59,120 $65,616 21% 10 New Mexico State 1.21 $59,520 $64,696 21% 11 Michigan State 1.20 $58,860 $63,770 23% 12 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro 1.19 $60,910 $63,316 31% 13 California State 1.18 $69,410 $62,701 39% 14 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro 1.18 $57,480 $63,026 25% 15 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro 1.17 $72,660 $62,369 37% 16 Washington State 1.12 $63,910 $59,562 36% 17 Colorado State 1.10 $61,780 $58,615 36% 18 Kansas State 1.09 $52,430 $58,256 24% 19 Montana State 1.08 $55,520 $57,593 24% 20 South Carolina State 1.08 $53,160 $57,783 28% 21 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro 1.08 $56,780 $57,645 36% 22 Virginia State 1.07 $59,290 $57,285 32% 23 Kentucky State 1.06 $49,840 $56,316 23% 24 Massachusetts State 1.06 $61,630 $56,802 44% 25 North Dakota State 1.04 $51,240 $55,335 23% 26 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro 1.04 $52,990 $55,313 34% 27 Arkansas State 1.03 $47,250 $54,751 22% 28 Illinois State 1.03 $53,280 $54,702 30% 29 Ohio State 1.01 $48,890 $54,082 26% 30 Oregon State 1.00 $55,090 $53,485 35% 31 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro 1.00 $49,280 $53,565 32% 32 Oklahoma State 0.99 $46,890 $52,983 25% 33 New York State 0.95 $57,150 $50,800 39% 34 North Carolina State 0.95 $48,090 $50,943 32% 35 Arizona State 0.93 $50,160 $49,713 36% 36 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro 0.93 $51,080 $49,353 37% 37 Florida State 0.92 $49,980 $49,241 41% 38 Pennsylvania State 0.92 $47,380 $48,845 33% 39 Texas State 0.92 $46,840 $48,996 35% 40 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro 0.92 $47,710 $49,084 40% 41 Idaho State 0.91 $46,680 $48,373 31% 42 Pittsburgh, PA Metro 0.88 $43,440 $46,962 33% 43 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro 0.87 $50,160 $46,531 43% 44 Alabama State 0.77 $35,670 $40,953 32% 45 Georgia State 0.70 $34,710 $37,163 49%
Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).