Best Cities for Helpers--Extraction Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where helpers--extraction workerss 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	West VirginiaState	1.92	$77,180	$91,663	13%
2	KentuckyState	1.61	$68,020	$76,859	17%
3	New MexicoState	1.25	$54,840	$59,609	23%
4	WyomingState	1.24	$55,240	$59,398	21%
5	UtahState	1.16	$55,490	$55,379	32%
6	IndianaState	1.15	$49,490	$54,685	26%
7	LouisianaState	1.09	$46,940	$52,098	27%
8	New HampshireState	1.08	$54,700	$51,604	35%
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$48,690	$50,825	37%
10	New JerseyState	1.04	$53,820	$49,467	40%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$48,290	$49,784	32%
12	South DakotaState	1.04	$45,250	$49,835	25%
13	ArizonaState	1.02	$49,070	$48,632	37%
14	MontanaState	1.02	$46,720	$48,465	29%
15	New YorkState	1.02	$54,910	$48,809	40%
16	VirginiaState	1.02	$50,350	$48,647	38%
17	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$44,300	$48,152	35%
18	AlaskaState	0.98	$48,820	$46,807	34%
19	CaliforniaState	0.98	$51,720	$46,721	53%
20	MarylandState	0.98	$51,020	$46,722	39%
21	NevadaState	0.97	$46,610	$46,517	37%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$47,730	$46,116	40%
23	North CarolinaState	0.95	$42,670	$45,201	37%
24	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$43,940	$45,206	43%
25	OregonState	0.94	$46,270	$44,922	41%
26	OklahomaState	0.91	$38,510	$43,514	30%
27	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$46,890	$43,217	52%
28	MississippiState	0.89	$36,160	$42,642	30%
29	TexasState	0.89	$40,650	$42,521	41%
30	FloridaState	0.85	$41,090	$40,483	50%
31	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$40,170	$40,782	51%
32	ColoradoState	0.74	$37,450	$35,531	59%

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