Best Cities for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installerss 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	North DakotaState	1.32	$74,490	$80,443	16%
2	IllinoisState	1.30	$77,410	$79,476	20%
3	MinnesotaState	1.28	$76,350	$77,908	20%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.28	$77,490	$77,879	23%
5	AlaskaState	1.22	$77,430	$74,238	21%
6	District of ColumbiaState	1.21	$84,390	$73,832	30%
7	ConnecticutState	1.17	$76,610	$71,199	25%
8	MassachusettsState	1.17	$77,300	$71,244	35%
9	WashingtonState	1.16	$75,660	$70,513	30%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.15	$80,100	$70,079	33%
11	New HampshireState	1.14	$73,850	$69,670	26%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$63,170	$69,265	23%
13	OhioState	1.13	$62,510	$69,148	20%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$78,530	$69,189	39%
15	Columbus, OHMetro	1.13	$64,440	$68,920	24%
16	IowaState	1.12	$60,680	$68,027	19%
17	New JerseyState	1.12	$74,450	$68,428	29%
18	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.12	$82,050	$68,261	46%
19	MissouriState	1.11	$59,950	$67,664	21%
20	South DakotaState	1.11	$61,390	$67,610	19%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.11	$62,680	$67,543	25%
22	KansasState	1.10	$60,460	$67,178	21%
23	Rhode IslandState	1.10	$67,370	$67,035	27%
24	WisconsinState	1.10	$61,710	$66,858	21%
25	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$62,140	$67,178	23%
26	IndianaState	1.09	$60,430	$66,773	21%
27	KentuckyState	1.09	$58,620	$66,237	20%
28	MichiganState	1.08	$60,850	$65,926	22%
29	New YorkState	1.08	$74,430	$66,160	30%
30	CaliforniaState	1.07	$72,560	$65,547	37%
31	LouisianaState	1.07	$58,650	$65,094	21%
32	NebraskaState	1.07	$59,850	$65,410	21%
33	OklahomaState	1.07	$57,560	$65,040	20%
34	MarylandState	1.05	$70,020	$64,121	29%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.05	$62,400	$64,330	25%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$71,920	$63,759	33%
37	MaineState	1.04	$63,170	$63,297	25%
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$73,830	$63,373	37%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$58,590	$63,685	27%
40	MontanaState	1.03	$60,850	$63,122	22%
41	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$60,270	$62,651	31%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$59,840	$62,463	30%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$64,580	$62,396	30%
44	ColoradoState	1.01	$65,200	$61,860	34%
45	DelawareState	1.01	$62,320	$61,703	26%
46	South CarolinaState	1.01	$56,610	$61,533	27%
47	OregonState	1.00	$62,940	$61,107	30%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$58,970	$60,919	33%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$59,560	$61,276	32%
50	GeorgiaState	0.99	$56,390	$60,375	30%
51	NevadaState	0.99	$60,510	$60,389	29%
52	North CarolinaState	0.99	$57,260	$60,657	27%
53	TennesseeState	0.99	$55,490	$60,645	27%
54	TexasState	0.99	$57,760	$60,418	29%
55	VermontState	0.99	$62,150	$60,634	28%
56	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.99	$65,260	$60,538	33%
57	HawaiiState	0.98	$65,450	$59,500	44%
58	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$63,180	$59,716	32%
59	ArizonaState	0.96	$59,400	$58,870	30%
60	IdahoState	0.96	$56,240	$58,280	26%
61	UtahState	0.96	$58,730	$58,613	30%
62	WyomingState	0.96	$54,700	$58,817	22%
63	VirginiaState	0.95	$59,730	$57,710	32%
64	West VirginiaState	0.95	$48,850	$58,017	21%
65	MississippiState	0.94	$48,680	$57,406	22%
66	FloridaState	0.92	$56,670	$55,833	36%
67	AlabamaState	0.91	$48,370	$55,534	24%
68	ArkansasState	0.91	$48,110	$55,747	22%
69	New MexicoState	0.90	$50,270	$54,641	25%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$58,040	$53,493	42%
71	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$50,540	$51,310	41%

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