Best Cities for Hydrologic Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where hydrologic technicianss 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	TexasState	1.43	$88,400	$92,469	19%
2	MissouriState	1.38	$79,440	$89,661	16%
3	New MexicoState	1.34	$79,710	$86,641	16%
4	WashingtonState	1.23	$85,240	$79,441	27%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$82,360	$76,401	26%
6	KentuckyState	1.14	$65,170	$73,638	18%
7	LouisianaState	1.12	$65,170	$72,331	19%
8	GeorgiaState	1.10	$66,770	$71,488	25%
9	NevadaState	1.06	$68,660	$68,523	25%
10	MassachusettsState	1.05	$73,820	$68,037	37%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$65,420	$67,443	24%
12	ArizonaState	1.00	$65,170	$64,589	28%
13	WisconsinState	1.00	$60,100	$65,114	22%
14	CaliforniaState	0.99	$70,790	$63,948	38%
15	North CarolinaState	0.97	$59,590	$63,125	26%
16	MarylandState	0.95	$67,520	$61,832	30%
17	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$60,700	$61,624	34%
18	FloridaState	0.94	$61,820	$60,906	33%
19	New HampshireState	0.94	$64,790	$61,123	29%
20	OregonState	0.94	$62,510	$60,689	31%
21	New JerseyState	0.92	$65,190	$59,917	33%
22	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$64,570	$59,512	38%
23	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$62,450	$59,026	32%
24	New YorkState	0.89	$65,190	$57,947	34%
25	OhioState	0.89	$52,120	$57,655	24%
26	IdahoState	0.88	$54,950	$56,943	26%
27	West VirginiaState	0.88	$48,230	$57,280	21%
28	MontanaState	0.86	$53,550	$55,550	25%
29	IllinoisState	0.84	$52,870	$54,281	30%
30	ColoradoState	0.83	$56,780	$53,871	39%
31	VirginiaState	0.78	$52,190	$50,425	36%
32	TennesseeState	0.52	$30,780	$33,639	49%

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