Best Cities for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitterss 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.35	$65,600	$57,393	40%
2	WashingtonState	1.24	$56,140	$52,321	41%
3	OhioState	1.19	$45,760	$50,619	27%
4	KentuckyState	1.16	$43,330	$48,960	27%
5	MaineState	1.15	$48,410	$48,507	32%
6	NebraskaState	1.15	$44,550	$48,689	28%
7	TennesseeState	1.15	$44,550	$48,689	34%
8	WyomingState	1.15	$45,250	$48,656	26%
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.15	$46,540	$48,580	39%
10	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.15	$46,990	$48,846	40%
11	ArizonaState	1.12	$47,990	$47,562	37%
12	HawaiiState	1.12	$52,000	$47,273	55%
13	IndianaState	1.10	$42,240	$46,674	30%
14	MichiganState	1.09	$42,810	$46,381	31%
15	New YorkState	1.09	$52,000	$46,222	43%
16	North CarolinaState	1.09	$43,710	$46,303	36%
17	AlaskaState	1.07	$47,290	$45,340	35%
18	OklahomaState	1.07	$40,080	$45,288	29%
19	WisconsinState	1.07	$41,670	$45,146	31%
20	KansasState	1.06	$40,540	$45,044	31%
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$43,680	$44,938	44%
22	MississippiState	1.04	$37,440	$44,151	29%
23	TexasState	1.04	$41,950	$43,881	40%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$41,030	$43,882	38%
25	ArkansasState	1.03	$37,670	$43,650	28%
26	New HampshireState	1.03	$46,030	$43,425	41%
27	New MexicoState	1.03	$40,100	$43,587	31%
28	OregonState	1.03	$44,800	$43,495	43%
29	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$42,150	$43,454	37%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$45,990	$43,469	44%
31	UtahState	1.02	$43,380	$43,293	41%
32	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$44,580	$43,072	43%
33	AlabamaState	1.01	$37,440	$42,985	31%
34	CaliforniaState	1.01	$47,130	$42,575	58%
35	ColoradoState	1.01	$45,030	$42,723	49%
36	MontanaState	1.01	$41,420	$42,967	33%
37	South CarolinaState	1.01	$39,450	$42,880	38%
38	West VirginiaState	1.01	$35,930	$42,672	28%
39	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$46,110	$42,774	47%
40	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$39,380	$42,804	40%
41	IowaState	1.00	$37,870	$42,455	30%
42	MarylandState	1.00	$46,170	$42,280	44%
43	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$39,190	$42,368	36%
44	IdahoState	0.98	$40,120	$41,575	36%
45	LouisianaState	0.98	$37,380	$41,487	34%
46	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$37,990	$41,656	38%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$46,840	$41,525	51%
48	NevadaState	0.97	$41,100	$41,018	42%
49	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$39,650	$40,961	49%
50	MassachusettsState	0.96	$44,340	$40,866	61%
51	New JerseyState	0.96	$44,360	$40,772	49%
52	GeorgiaState	0.95	$37,730	$40,396	45%
53	South DakotaState	0.95	$36,500	$40,198	31%
54	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.95	$46,780	$40,155	58%
55	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$45,440	$39,755	56%
56	IllinoisState	0.93	$38,300	$39,322	41%
57	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$38,930	$39,523	53%
58	MissouriState	0.92	$34,630	$39,086	36%
59	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$44,360	$39,084	69%
60	FloridaState	0.87	$37,560	$37,005	55%
61	VirginiaState	0.87	$38,190	$36,899	49%
62	VermontState	0.86	$37,440	$36,527	46%
63	ConnecticutState	0.85	$38,930	$36,180	48%
64	DelawareState	0.84	$36,070	$35,713	45%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$37,520	$34,581	65%

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