Best Cities for Highway Maintenance Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where highway maintenance 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$79,000	$65,724	48%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.31	$75,030	$65,643	35%
3	IowaState	1.30	$58,490	$65,572	20%
4	North DakotaState	1.30	$60,630	$65,475	19%
5	MinnesotaState	1.28	$63,150	$64,439	24%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$63,650	$63,970	28%
7	IllinoisState	1.26	$61,700	$63,347	25%
8	MontanaState	1.26	$60,960	$63,237	22%
9	OregonState	1.26	$65,330	$63,427	29%
10	WisconsinState	1.25	$58,000	$62,839	22%
11	WashingtonState	1.21	$65,300	$60,857	35%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.21	$65,300	$60,575	33%
13	ConnecticutState	1.20	$64,870	$60,288	29%
14	MichiganState	1.16	$53,750	$58,234	25%
15	Rhode IslandState	1.15	$57,950	$57,662	31%
16	MassachusettsState	1.13	$61,500	$56,682	44%
17	VermontState	1.13	$58,460	$57,034	29%
18	UtahState	1.11	$55,970	$55,858	32%
19	OhioState	1.08	$48,880	$54,071	26%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$49,280	$54,035	30%
21	CaliforniaState	1.07	$59,580	$53,821	46%
22	IdahoState	1.07	$52,050	$53,938	28%
23	IndianaState	1.07	$48,480	$53,569	26%
24	MissouriState	1.07	$47,470	$53,578	26%
25	South DakotaState	1.07	$48,610	$53,535	24%
26	West VirginiaState	1.07	$45,260	$53,753	22%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$60,800	$53,568	50%
28	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$49,710	$53,741	28%
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$60,810	$53,910	39%
30	NebraskaState	1.06	$48,650	$53,169	26%
31	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$49,840	$53,305	31%
32	South CarolinaState	1.04	$48,130	$52,315	31%
33	AlaskaState	1.03	$54,090	$51,860	30%
34	New MexicoState	1.03	$47,740	$51,891	26%
35	WyomingState	1.03	$48,190	$51,817	25%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$49,470	$51,639	36%
37	KansasState	1.02	$46,050	$51,167	27%
38	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$47,760	$51,466	32%
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$49,110	$51,050	38%
40	North CarolinaState	1.01	$47,880	$50,720	33%
41	ArizonaState	1.00	$50,850	$50,396	35%
42	TennesseeState	1.00	$46,070	$50,350	33%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$58,540	$50,249	46%
44	ColoradoState	0.99	$52,350	$49,668	42%
45	LouisianaState	0.99	$44,790	$49,711	28%
46	MaineState	0.98	$49,030	$49,128	32%
47	NevadaState	0.98	$49,320	$49,222	35%
48	New YorkState	0.98	$55,210	$49,076	40%
49	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$47,690	$49,165	33%
50	VirginiaState	0.98	$50,800	$49,082	37%
51	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$48,110	$49,496	40%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$44,880	$48,783	35%
53	New HampshireState	0.96	$51,050	$48,160	37%
54	New JerseyState	0.95	$51,720	$47,537	42%
55	TexasState	0.95	$45,540	$47,636	36%
56	KentuckyState	0.91	$40,400	$45,650	28%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$48,500	$45,841	42%
58	DelawareState	0.90	$45,450	$45,000	36%
59	MarylandState	0.89	$49,030	$44,899	41%
60	OklahomaState	0.87	$38,840	$43,887	30%
61	AlabamaState	0.86	$37,430	$42,974	31%
62	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.84	$43,890	$42,406	44%
63	FloridaState	0.83	$42,210	$41,586	49%
64	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.83	$40,150	$41,477	48%
65	ArkansasState	0.82	$35,740	$41,414	29%
66	MississippiState	0.82	$35,120	$41,415	31%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$44,370	$40,894	55%
68	GeorgiaState	0.80	$37,560	$40,214	45%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$38,350	$38,934	54%

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