Best Cities for Industrial Machinery Mechanicss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where industrial machinery mechanicss 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	WyomingState	1.31	$78,320	$84,215	15%
2	IllinoisState	1.21	$76,200	$78,234	21%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$71,100	$77,961	21%
4	NevadaState	1.20	$77,750	$77,595	22%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$87,670	$76,702	29%
6	MissouriState	1.18	$67,390	$76,061	18%
7	Columbus, OHMetro	1.17	$70,410	$75,305	22%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$74,800	$75,176	24%
9	AlaskaState	1.15	$77,390	$74,199	21%
10	ArizonaState	1.15	$74,790	$74,123	24%
11	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$68,770	$74,106	22%
12	MinnesotaState	1.14	$71,960	$73,429	21%
13	OregonState	1.14	$75,670	$73,466	25%
14	West VirginiaState	1.14	$61,710	$73,290	16%
15	KansasState	1.13	$65,830	$73,144	19%
16	KentuckyState	1.13	$64,560	$72,949	18%
17	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.13	$70,030	$72,796	27%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$78,710	$73,015	27%
19	IowaState	1.12	$64,400	$72,197	18%
20	MaineState	1.12	$72,310	$72,455	21%
21	OhioState	1.12	$65,130	$72,046	19%
22	WashingtonState	1.12	$77,220	$71,966	29%
23	WisconsinState	1.12	$66,620	$72,178	20%
24	ColoradoState	1.11	$75,600	$71,727	29%
25	AlabamaState	1.10	$61,920	$71,091	19%
26	IndianaState	1.10	$63,950	$70,663	20%
27	North DakotaState	1.10	$65,990	$71,263	18%
28	TennesseeState	1.10	$65,010	$71,049	23%
29	HawaiiState	1.09	$77,330	$70,300	37%
30	NebraskaState	1.09	$64,110	$70,066	20%
31	UtahState	1.09	$70,720	$70,579	25%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.09	$74,580	$70,491	27%
33	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$84,620	$70,399	45%
34	MichiganState	1.08	$64,250	$69,610	21%
35	MontanaState	1.08	$67,250	$69,761	20%
36	OklahomaState	1.08	$61,540	$69,537	19%
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$79,920	$69,921	33%
38	ArkansasState	1.07	$59,760	$69,247	18%
39	MississippiState	1.06	$57,760	$68,113	19%
40	New JerseyState	1.06	$74,760	$68,713	29%
41	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$65,530	$68,403	27%
42	South CarolinaState	1.05	$62,330	$67,750	24%
43	South DakotaState	1.05	$61,560	$67,797	19%
44	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$70,340	$67,961	27%
45	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$62,560	$67,632	23%
46	CaliforniaState	1.04	$74,400	$67,209	37%
47	LouisianaState	1.04	$60,260	$66,881	21%
48	MassachusettsState	1.04	$72,840	$67,134	37%
49	DelawareState	1.03	$67,320	$66,653	24%
50	North CarolinaState	1.03	$62,430	$66,133	25%
51	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$75,200	$66,256	41%
52	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$74,720	$66,241	32%
53	MarylandState	1.02	$71,870	$65,815	28%
54	New MexicoState	1.02	$60,670	$65,946	21%
55	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$63,840	$65,814	24%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$60,760	$66,043	26%
57	ConnecticutState	1.01	$69,950	$65,009	27%
58	GeorgiaState	1.01	$61,130	$65,450	28%
59	IdahoState	1.01	$62,860	$65,140	23%
60	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$63,380	$65,206	30%
61	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$64,770	$64,448	28%
62	TexasState	1.00	$61,930	$64,780	27%
63	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$62,000	$64,050	31%
64	New YorkState	0.96	$69,740	$61,991	32%
65	VermontState	0.96	$63,180	$61,639	27%
66	VirginiaState	0.96	$64,020	$61,855	30%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$72,090	$61,880	38%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$60,970	$61,898	34%
69	New HampshireState	0.94	$64,150	$60,519	30%
70	FloridaState	0.93	$60,650	$59,754	34%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$61,620	$56,793	40%

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