Best Cities for Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where industrial engineering technologists and 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	OklahomaState	1.36	$79,330	$89,638	15%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.26	$76,190	$83,542	19%
3	Columbus, OHMetro	1.24	$76,530	$81,850	20%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.20	$90,620	$79,283	29%
5	AlabamaState	1.15	$66,510	$76,361	17%
6	South CarolinaState	1.15	$70,080	$76,174	21%
7	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.15	$80,310	$75,907	25%
8	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.15	$72,620	$75,804	25%
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.14	$90,660	$75,424	42%
10	North CarolinaState	1.12	$69,720	$73,856	22%
11	OregonState	1.11	$75,760	$73,553	25%
12	WashingtonState	1.11	$78,430	$73,094	29%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$73,060	$73,427	24%
14	IllinoisState	1.10	$71,090	$72,988	22%
15	MarylandState	1.10	$79,090	$72,427	25%
16	OhioState	1.10	$65,490	$72,445	19%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$75,450	$72,899	25%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$67,050	$72,486	21%
19	ArkansasState	1.09	$62,210	$72,086	17%
20	IowaState	1.09	$64,410	$72,209	18%
21	MinnesotaState	1.09	$70,490	$71,929	22%
22	CaliforniaState	1.08	$79,070	$71,427	34%
23	MissouriState	1.07	$62,440	$70,474	20%
24	VermontState	1.07	$72,410	$70,644	24%
25	WisconsinState	1.07	$65,270	$70,715	20%
26	MichiganState	1.06	$64,510	$69,892	21%
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$75,870	$70,380	28%
28	GeorgiaState	1.05	$65,060	$69,657	26%
29	IndianaState	1.05	$63,110	$69,735	20%
30	North DakotaState	1.05	$64,060	$69,179	18%
31	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$64,700	$69,720	24%
32	KentuckyState	1.04	$61,140	$69,085	19%
33	KansasState	1.03	$61,000	$67,778	20%
34	West VirginiaState	1.03	$57,240	$67,981	18%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$65,260	$67,278	24%
36	UtahState	1.02	$67,490	$67,355	27%
37	New JerseyState	1.01	$72,890	$66,994	30%
38	New MexicoState	1.01	$61,280	$66,609	21%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$77,640	$66,644	35%
40	MassachusettsState	1.00	$71,830	$66,203	38%
41	ArizonaState	0.99	$66,040	$65,451	27%
42	IdahoState	0.99	$63,150	$65,440	23%
43	NebraskaState	0.99	$59,970	$65,541	21%
44	New HampshireState	0.99	$69,650	$65,708	27%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$74,250	$65,419	41%
46	TexasState	0.98	$62,020	$64,874	27%
47	ConnecticutState	0.97	$69,260	$64,368	27%
48	VirginiaState	0.97	$66,310	$64,068	29%
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$72,440	$64,220	33%
50	ColoradoState	0.96	$66,850	$63,425	33%
51	MaineState	0.96	$63,070	$63,196	25%
52	TennesseeState	0.96	$58,070	$63,464	26%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$61,140	$63,161	32%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$62,010	$63,796	31%
55	MontanaState	0.95	$60,330	$62,583	22%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$60,740	$63,139	31%
57	New YorkState	0.94	$70,290	$62,480	32%
58	NevadaState	0.93	$61,470	$61,347	28%
59	FloridaState	0.91	$61,350	$60,443	34%
60	South DakotaState	0.91	$54,570	$60,099	21%
61	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$65,050	$59,954	38%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$55,310	$60,120	28%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$59,500	$60,406	35%
64	MississippiState	0.89	$50,180	$59,175	21%
65	Rhode IslandState	0.89	$59,420	$59,124	30%

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