Best Cities for Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all others 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	1.47	$75,360	$72,253	22%
2	HawaiiState	1.37	$74,260	$67,509	39%
3	MaineState	1.25	$61,380	$61,503	25%
4	MinnesotaState	1.25	$60,250	$61,480	25%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.23	$60,250	$60,553	29%
6	Rhode IslandState	1.21	$59,890	$59,592	30%
7	MissouriState	1.19	$52,000	$58,691	24%
8	WashingtonState	1.19	$63,080	$58,788	36%
9	KentuckyState	1.18	$51,310	$57,977	22%
10	IllinoisState	1.16	$55,780	$57,269	28%
11	KansasState	1.15	$51,060	$56,733	24%
12	West VirginiaState	1.15	$47,850	$56,829	21%
13	LouisianaState	1.14	$50,660	$56,226	25%
14	North DakotaState	1.14	$52,040	$56,199	23%
15	OklahomaState	1.13	$49,420	$55,842	24%
16	MassachusettsState	1.12	$59,890	$55,198	45%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.12	$51,060	$55,022	30%
18	IowaState	1.11	$48,680	$54,574	23%
19	New MexicoState	1.10	$50,010	$54,359	25%
20	AlabamaState	1.09	$46,610	$53,513	25%
21	IdahoState	1.09	$51,680	$53,554	28%
22	NebraskaState	1.09	$48,940	$53,486	26%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$57,890	$53,701	37%
24	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.09	$61,500	$53,806	43%
25	ArkansasState	1.08	$45,830	$53,105	23%
26	IndianaState	1.08	$48,120	$53,171	26%
27	South DakotaState	1.08	$48,490	$53,403	24%
28	UtahState	1.08	$53,110	$53,004	34%
29	WisconsinState	1.08	$49,100	$53,196	27%
30	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$60,230	$53,066	51%
31	OhioState	1.07	$47,550	$52,600	26%
32	TennesseeState	1.07	$48,200	$52,678	31%
33	ConnecticutState	1.06	$56,110	$52,147	34%
34	MississippiState	1.06	$44,370	$52,323	24%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$47,450	$52,029	31%
36	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$59,320	$51,899	43%
37	GeorgiaState	1.05	$48,490	$51,916	35%
38	WyomingState	1.05	$48,260	$51,892	24%
39	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$48,230	$51,583	32%
40	MichiganState	1.04	$47,470	$51,430	28%
41	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$49,610	$51,250	39%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$49,100	$51,040	38%
43	New YorkState	1.03	$56,900	$50,578	39%
44	OregonState	1.03	$52,230	$50,709	37%
45	South CarolinaState	1.03	$46,430	$50,467	32%
46	MontanaState	1.02	$48,360	$50,166	28%
47	NevadaState	1.02	$50,190	$50,090	35%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$48,130	$50,240	37%
49	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$46,660	$50,443	30%
50	ArizonaState	1.01	$49,990	$49,544	36%
51	North CarolinaState	1.01	$46,780	$49,555	33%
52	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$48,180	$49,670	32%
53	VermontState	1.01	$51,030	$49,785	34%
54	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$51,290	$49,556	37%
55	ColoradoState	0.98	$50,840	$48,235	44%
56	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$58,200	$48,419	65%
57	DelawareState	0.97	$48,310	$47,832	34%
58	TexasState	0.96	$45,360	$47,448	37%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$43,480	$47,261	36%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$46,650	$47,360	44%
61	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$45,430	$46,739	42%
62	CaliforniaState	0.94	$51,230	$46,278	53%
63	New HampshireState	0.94	$49,030	$46,255	39%
64	VirginiaState	0.94	$47,910	$46,290	39%
65	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$52,000	$46,099	46%
66	FloridaState	0.93	$46,290	$45,606	45%
67	MarylandState	0.93	$49,950	$45,742	40%
68	New JerseyState	0.93	$49,920	$45,882	43%
69	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$48,520	$45,860	42%
70	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$51,240	$43,983	53%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$46,760	$43,097	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).