Best Cities for Helpers--Rooferss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where helpers--rooferss 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	UtahState	1.65	$72,860	$72,715	25%
2	ColoradoState	1.20	$55,860	$52,998	40%
3	OhioState	1.17	$46,600	$51,549	27%
4	GeorgiaState	1.15	$47,610	$50,974	36%
5	CaliforniaState	1.13	$55,470	$50,108	49%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.11	$47,610	$49,184	41%
7	LouisianaState	1.10	$43,680	$48,479	29%
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$58,090	$48,328	65%
9	IowaState	1.08	$42,650	$47,814	27%
10	North CarolinaState	1.06	$44,120	$46,737	35%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$44,380	$46,326	41%
12	MichiganState	1.02	$41,750	$45,233	32%
13	VirginiaState	1.01	$46,030	$44,473	41%
14	OklahomaState	1.00	$38,950	$44,011	30%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$45,150	$43,623	42%
16	AlabamaState	0.98	$37,670	$43,249	31%
17	OregonState	0.97	$44,330	$43,039	43%
18	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$41,320	$42,598	38%
19	TennesseeState	0.95	$38,380	$41,945	39%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$47,090	$41,746	51%
21	ArkansasState	0.94	$35,950	$41,657	29%
22	WashingtonState	0.94	$44,520	$41,491	51%
23	New MexicoState	0.93	$37,640	$40,913	33%
24	South CarolinaState	0.93	$37,860	$41,152	40%
25	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$39,850	$40,998	48%
26	MissouriState	0.91	$35,800	$40,406	35%
27	TexasState	0.91	$38,430	$40,199	43%
28	New JerseyState	0.89	$42,670	$39,219	51%
29	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$41,690	$38,424	59%
30	FloridaState	0.86	$38,350	$37,783	54%
31	NevadaState	0.85	$37,430	$37,355	47%
32	MississippiState	0.83	$31,090	$36,663	35%
33	MarylandState	0.72	$34,830	$31,896	58%

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