Best Cities for Grounds Maintenance Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where grounds maintenance workers, all others 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	IndianaState	1.85	$78,580	$86,829	16%
2	OklahomaState	1.77	$73,300	$82,825	16%
3	MinnesotaState	1.60	$73,300	$74,796	21%
4	ArizonaState	1.53	$72,550	$71,903	25%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.52	$71,050	$71,407	25%
6	MassachusettsState	1.43	$72,550	$66,866	37%
7	New JerseyState	1.41	$71,800	$65,993	30%
8	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.37	$59,610	$64,235	26%
9	IowaState	1.36	$57,030	$63,935	20%
10	MissouriState	1.34	$55,560	$62,709	22%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.30	$55,360	$60,702	26%
12	AlabamaState	1.26	$51,620	$59,265	22%
13	OhioState	1.19	$50,600	$55,973	25%
14	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.16	$50,150	$54,511	31%
15	New YorkState	1.14	$60,150	$53,467	37%
16	KentuckyState	1.13	$46,790	$52,870	25%
17	VirginiaState	1.13	$54,990	$53,130	34%
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.11	$51,270	$52,051	40%
19	IllinoisState	1.10	$50,150	$51,489	31%
20	MontanaState	1.10	$49,580	$51,432	27%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$54,610	$51,616	37%
22	AlaskaState	1.08	$52,700	$50,527	31%
23	New HampshireState	1.07	$53,120	$50,113	36%
24	ConnecticutState	1.05	$53,090	$49,340	35%
25	South CarolinaState	1.05	$45,360	$49,304	33%
26	FloridaState	1.03	$49,000	$48,276	42%
27	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$46,310	$48,139	40%
28	MarylandState	1.02	$52,280	$47,875	39%
29	MichiganState	1.02	$43,910	$47,573	31%
30	OregonState	1.01	$48,890	$47,466	39%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$46,130	$47,459	41%
32	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$56,840	$47,288	66%
33	TexasState	0.99	$44,500	$46,548	37%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$52,280	$46,348	46%
35	ColoradoState	0.98	$48,280	$45,806	46%
36	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$48,880	$45,343	44%
37	West VirginiaState	0.96	$38,060	$45,202	26%
38	MaineState	0.95	$44,570	$44,659	35%
39	CaliforniaState	0.94	$48,870	$44,146	56%
40	TennesseeState	0.93	$39,980	$43,694	38%
41	WashingtonState	0.93	$46,900	$43,709	49%
42	NevadaState	0.92	$43,230	$43,144	40%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$50,480	$43,330	54%
44	GeorgiaState	0.91	$39,840	$42,655	43%
45	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$45,860	$42,267	53%
46	VermontState	0.89	$42,680	$41,639	40%
47	WyomingState	0.89	$38,660	$41,570	31%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.88	$39,870	$41,188	49%
49	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$46,900	$41,032	56%
50	District of ColumbiaState	0.83	$44,470	$38,906	57%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.81	$36,810	$37,948	42%
52	IdahoState	0.80	$36,000	$37,306	40%
53	LouisianaState	0.80	$33,970	$37,703	37%
54	MississippiState	0.79	$31,420	$37,052	34%
55	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.77	$33,280	$35,978	42%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.75	$36,470	$35,237	53%

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