Best Cities for Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masonss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masonss 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	OhioState	1.46	$53,340	$59,004	24%
2	HawaiiState	1.16	$51,540	$46,855	56%
3	MontanaState	1.15	$44,720	$46,390	30%
4	New YorkState	1.14	$52,000	$46,222	43%
5	UtahState	1.10	$44,500	$44,411	40%
6	CaliforniaState	1.03	$46,220	$41,752	59%
7	VirginiaState	1.03	$43,160	$41,700	44%
8	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$40,420	$41,584	47%
9	LouisianaState	1.02	$37,340	$41,443	34%
10	ColoradoState	1.00	$42,470	$40,294	52%
11	IndianaState	1.00	$36,550	$40,387	35%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$47,260	$40,567	58%
13	ConnecticutState	0.99	$43,070	$40,028	44%
14	IdahoState	0.99	$38,760	$40,166	37%
15	TennesseeState	0.98	$36,130	$39,486	42%
16	New MexicoState	0.96	$35,860	$38,978	35%
17	OregonState	0.96	$40,180	$39,010	48%
18	TexasState	0.96	$37,040	$38,745	45%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$43,890	$38,910	55%
20	NevadaState	0.95	$38,330	$38,253	45%
21	GeorgiaState	0.94	$35,430	$37,934	48%
22	North CarolinaState	0.94	$35,980	$38,114	43%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.93	$40,370	$37,449	53%
24	WashingtonState	0.91	$39,360	$36,682	58%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$39,080	$36,938	52%
26	FloridaState	0.88	$36,010	$35,478	57%
27	MarylandState	0.88	$39,080	$35,788	52%
28	MichiganState	0.81	$30,300	$32,828	44%
29	ArizonaState	0.78	$32,000	$31,715	56%
30	MississippiState	0.68	$23,470	$27,677	46%

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