Best Cities for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weigherss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weigherss 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	AlaskaState	1.54	$78,150	$74,928	21%
2	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.40	$63,000	$67,888	24%
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.38	$76,800	$67,192	34%
4	WyomingState	1.28	$57,900	$62,258	20%
5	MissouriState	1.26	$54,420	$61,422	23%
6	MontanaState	1.24	$58,070	$60,239	23%
7	WashingtonState	1.24	$64,420	$60,037	35%
8	KansasState	1.23	$53,680	$59,644	23%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.22	$58,900	$59,196	30%
10	MinnesotaState	1.20	$57,170	$58,337	27%
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.18	$60,750	$57,420	33%
12	DelawareState	1.17	$57,190	$56,624	28%
13	IowaState	1.17	$50,740	$56,883	23%
14	MarylandState	1.17	$61,790	$56,584	33%
15	NebraskaState	1.15	$51,270	$56,033	24%
16	OklahomaState	1.15	$49,630	$56,079	23%
17	West VirginiaState	1.15	$47,010	$55,831	21%
18	ColoradoState	1.14	$58,350	$55,361	38%
19	LouisianaState	1.13	$49,490	$54,928	25%
20	North DakotaState	1.13	$50,820	$54,881	23%
21	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$54,940	$54,667	33%
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$61,820	$54,805	39%
23	HawaiiState	1.12	$59,740	$54,309	48%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.12	$58,460	$54,230	37%
25	MaineState	1.11	$53,570	$53,677	29%
26	New MexicoState	1.11	$49,500	$53,804	25%
27	WisconsinState	1.11	$49,610	$53,749	26%
28	ConnecticutState	1.09	$57,090	$53,058	33%
29	IndianaState	1.09	$47,900	$52,928	26%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$49,090	$53,070	29%
31	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$59,730	$52,257	42%
32	KentuckyState	1.08	$46,280	$52,294	25%
33	OhioState	1.08	$47,360	$52,389	26%
34	OregonState	1.08	$54,120	$52,544	35%
35	South DakotaState	1.07	$47,240	$52,026	24%
36	ArizonaState	1.06	$52,100	$51,635	35%
37	ArkansasState	1.06	$44,570	$51,645	24%
38	New HampshireState	1.06	$54,800	$51,698	35%
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$58,210	$51,286	53%
40	South CarolinaState	1.05	$46,890	$50,967	32%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$47,040	$51,130	33%
42	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$47,130	$50,406	33%
43	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$60,610	$50,424	62%
44	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$48,320	$49,814	32%
45	TennesseeState	1.03	$45,760	$50,011	33%
46	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$51,990	$50,232	37%
47	GeorgiaState	1.02	$46,130	$49,390	37%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$47,670	$49,760	38%
49	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$45,400	$49,781	32%
50	CaliforniaState	1.01	$54,300	$49,051	50%
51	IllinoisState	1.01	$47,920	$49,199	33%
52	NevadaState	1.01	$49,280	$49,182	35%
53	North CarolinaState	1.01	$46,430	$49,184	34%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$47,170	$49,033	40%
55	TexasState	1.00	$46,210	$48,337	36%
56	UtahState	1.00	$48,910	$48,812	37%
57	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$46,870	$48,419	41%
58	MassachusettsState	0.99	$52,270	$48,175	52%
59	MichiganState	0.99	$44,490	$48,202	30%
60	MississippiState	0.99	$40,670	$47,960	26%
61	VirginiaState	0.99	$49,590	$47,913	38%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$47,180	$47,898	44%
63	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$46,210	$47,541	41%
64	FloridaState	0.96	$47,540	$46,837	43%
65	IdahoState	0.96	$45,130	$46,767	32%
66	AlabamaState	0.95	$40,010	$45,936	29%
67	New JerseyState	0.93	$49,140	$45,165	44%
68	VermontState	0.93	$46,210	$45,083	37%
69	New YorkState	0.91	$49,990	$44,436	44%
70	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$51,560	$44,258	53%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$46,820	$43,152	52%

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