Best Cities for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hands

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where grinding and polishing workers, hands 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	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.35	$53,620	$57,780	29%
2	VermontState	1.30	$56,850	$55,463	30%
3	KansasState	1.26	$48,410	$53,789	26%
4	MissouriState	1.25	$47,360	$53,454	26%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.25	$52,890	$53,156	34%
6	IowaState	1.24	$47,280	$53,004	24%
7	MinnesotaState	1.24	$51,930	$52,990	30%
8	MontanaState	1.23	$50,460	$52,344	27%
9	WisconsinState	1.21	$47,790	$51,777	27%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$46,960	$51,491	31%
11	Rhode IslandState	1.20	$51,630	$51,373	35%
12	South CarolinaState	1.16	$45,710	$49,685	33%
13	MichiganState	1.13	$44,430	$48,137	30%
14	DelawareState	1.11	$47,780	$47,307	34%
15	MississippiState	1.11	$40,280	$47,500	27%
16	VirginiaState	1.11	$48,830	$47,179	39%
17	West VirginiaState	1.11	$39,870	$47,352	25%
18	ArkansasState	1.06	$38,960	$45,145	27%
19	ConnecticutState	1.06	$48,670	$45,232	39%
20	NevadaState	1.06	$45,310	$45,220	38%
21	New HampshireState	1.06	$47,920	$45,208	40%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.06	$44,740	$45,421	46%
23	OhioState	1.05	$40,310	$44,591	31%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$46,300	$44,734	41%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$51,310	$44,891	51%
26	MarylandState	1.04	$48,390	$44,313	42%
27	New JerseyState	1.03	$47,840	$43,971	45%
28	WashingtonState	1.03	$47,290	$44,073	48%
29	GeorgiaState	1.02	$40,660	$43,533	42%
30	OklahomaState	1.02	$38,340	$43,322	30%
31	IndianaState	1.01	$38,810	$42,884	33%
32	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$51,680	$42,995	73%
33	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$48,220	$42,748	50%
34	New YorkState	0.98	$47,240	$41,991	47%
35	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$40,510	$41,763	38%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$39,750	$41,493	45%
37	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$40,250	$41,409	47%
38	AlabamaState	0.96	$35,620	$40,896	32%
39	OregonState	0.96	$42,380	$41,146	45%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$46,550	$41,013	66%
41	CaliforniaState	0.94	$44,450	$40,154	61%
42	TexasState	0.94	$38,170	$39,927	44%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$43,250	$40,121	50%
44	North CarolinaState	0.93	$37,600	$39,831	42%
45	MassachusettsState	0.92	$42,700	$39,355	63%
46	FloridaState	0.91	$39,480	$38,897	52%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$37,230	$38,701	50%
48	ColoradoState	0.90	$40,600	$38,520	55%
49	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$44,660	$38,335	61%
50	ArizonaState	0.89	$38,280	$37,939	47%
51	IllinoisState	0.88	$36,590	$37,567	43%
52	TennesseeState	0.87	$33,830	$36,973	45%
53	LouisianaState	0.86	$33,160	$36,804	38%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$39,410	$36,323	62%
55	New MexicoState	0.73	$28,640	$31,130	44%

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