Best Cities for Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Walls

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and walls 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.74	$80,000	$85,561	19%
2	NebraskaState	1.63	$73,140	$79,934	17%
3	MississippiState	1.51	$62,880	$74,151	17%
4	OhioState	1.32	$58,400	$64,602	21%
5	MissouriState	1.29	$56,040	$63,251	22%
6	WashingtonState	1.29	$67,750	$63,141	34%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.28	$71,980	$62,975	37%
8	IowaState	1.27	$55,820	$62,578	20%
9	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.24	$56,460	$60,841	27%
10	IndianaState	1.23	$54,630	$60,365	23%
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.22	$63,200	$59,735	32%
12	OregonState	1.19	$60,210	$58,456	32%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$58,240	$58,533	30%
14	KansasState	1.17	$51,520	$57,244	24%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.15	$54,730	$56,539	35%
16	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.15	$54,400	$56,549	34%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.15	$60,960	$56,549	35%
18	AlabamaState	1.14	$48,740	$55,959	24%
19	KentuckyState	1.14	$49,730	$56,192	23%
20	MinnesotaState	1.13	$54,350	$55,459	28%
21	IllinoisState	1.11	$53,000	$54,415	30%
22	AlaskaState	1.10	$56,470	$54,142	29%
23	MarylandState	1.09	$58,420	$53,498	34%
24	WisconsinState	1.09	$49,520	$53,651	26%
25	DelawareState	1.08	$53,570	$53,040	30%
26	OklahomaState	1.08	$46,880	$52,972	25%
27	TennesseeState	1.08	$48,410	$52,907	31%
28	LouisianaState	1.07	$47,340	$52,542	27%
29	New MexicoState	1.07	$48,460	$52,674	26%
30	New YorkState	1.07	$59,100	$52,533	38%
31	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$50,600	$52,165	31%
32	VermontState	1.06	$53,570	$52,263	32%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$49,930	$51,368	38%
34	GeorgiaState	1.04	$47,810	$51,188	36%
35	South CarolinaState	1.04	$47,020	$51,109	32%
36	TexasState	1.04	$48,740	$50,983	34%
37	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$46,390	$50,866	32%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$47,110	$50,930	30%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$47,070	$51,163	33%
40	ArkansasState	1.03	$43,730	$50,672	24%
41	MichiganState	1.03	$46,490	$50,368	29%
42	South DakotaState	1.03	$45,820	$50,463	25%
43	MontanaState	1.02	$48,100	$49,896	28%
44	North DakotaState	1.02	$46,450	$50,162	25%
45	WyomingState	1.01	$46,200	$49,677	26%
46	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.00	$58,890	$48,993	64%
47	New HampshireState	0.99	$51,320	$48,415	37%
48	New JerseyState	0.99	$52,750	$48,483	41%
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$50,320	$48,618	38%
50	ColoradoState	0.98	$50,800	$48,197	44%
51	MaineState	0.97	$47,790	$47,886	33%
52	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$44,520	$46,472	40%
53	FloridaState	0.94	$47,100	$46,404	44%
54	NevadaState	0.94	$46,510	$46,417	37%
55	North CarolinaState	0.93	$42,990	$45,540	36%
56	ConnecticutState	0.92	$48,550	$45,121	39%
57	MassachusettsState	0.92	$48,940	$45,106	55%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$48,470	$44,673	50%
59	CaliforniaState	0.90	$48,840	$44,119	56%
60	IdahoState	0.88	$41,550	$43,057	35%
61	VirginiaState	0.88	$44,810	$43,295	42%
62	West VirginiaState	0.86	$35,390	$42,031	28%
63	ArizonaState	0.85	$42,210	$41,833	43%
64	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$48,470	$41,605	56%
65	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.83	$45,900	$40,691	52%
66	UtahState	0.81	$40,080	$40,000	45%

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