Best Cities for Insulation Workers, Mechanicals

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where insulation workers, mechanicals 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	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	2.02	$126,750	$117,579	17%
2	OregonState	1.99	$119,480	$116,000	16%
3	NevadaState	1.95	$114,130	$113,902	15%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.88	$109,360	$109,910	16%
5	CaliforniaState	1.85	$119,690	$108,121	23%
6	MinnesotaState	1.85	$105,670	$107,827	15%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.83	$124,090	$106,515	22%
8	IllinoisState	1.77	$100,400	$103,080	16%
9	New JerseyState	1.70	$107,610	$98,906	20%
10	WisconsinState	1.58	$85,120	$92,221	15%
11	MissouriState	1.52	$78,660	$88,781	16%
12	West VirginiaState	1.51	$74,200	$88,124	14%
13	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.48	$80,050	$86,541	18%
14	WashingtonState	1.47	$92,120	$85,853	25%
15	PennsylvaniaState	1.43	$80,770	$83,268	19%
16	NebraskaState	1.42	$75,940	$82,995	17%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.40	$76,590	$81,914	20%
18	AlaskaState	1.39	$84,410	$80,930	19%
19	ArizonaState	1.37	$80,410	$79,693	22%
20	IndianaState	1.37	$72,220	$79,801	18%
21	HawaiiState	1.36	$87,570	$79,609	33%
22	Rhode IslandState	1.32	$77,150	$76,766	23%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.29	$69,730	$75,140	22%
24	OhioState	1.28	$67,600	$74,779	19%
25	OklahomaState	1.20	$61,840	$69,876	19%
26	MarylandState	1.10	$70,030	$64,130	29%
27	MaineState	1.09	$63,580	$63,707	24%
28	MichiganState	1.09	$58,860	$63,770	23%
29	North DakotaState	1.08	$58,140	$62,786	20%
30	IowaState	1.05	$54,440	$61,031	21%
31	ArkansasState	1.02	$51,390	$59,548	21%
32	MassachusettsState	1.02	$64,710	$59,641	42%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$61,660	$59,575	31%
34	MississippiState	1.01	$50,180	$59,175	21%
35	New MexicoState	0.99	$53,120	$57,739	24%
36	GeorgiaState	0.97	$52,600	$56,317	32%
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$63,630	$56,410	38%
38	AlabamaState	0.96	$48,930	$56,177	23%
39	UtahState	0.96	$55,990	$55,878	32%
40	South CarolinaState	0.94	$50,440	$54,826	30%
41	VirginiaState	0.94	$57,010	$55,082	33%
42	KansasState	0.93	$49,050	$54,500	25%
43	LouisianaState	0.92	$48,280	$53,585	26%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$52,200	$53,704	36%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$51,350	$53,048	38%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$48,920	$53,174	32%
47	New YorkState	0.90	$59,120	$52,551	38%
48	KentuckyState	0.89	$46,150	$52,147	25%
49	WyomingState	0.89	$48,190	$51,817	25%
50	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$49,570	$51,743	36%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$49,800	$51,767	37%
52	North CarolinaState	0.88	$48,430	$51,303	32%
53	TexasState	0.88	$48,930	$51,182	34%
54	TennesseeState	0.87	$46,380	$50,689	32%
55	FloridaState	0.84	$49,660	$48,926	42%
56	ColoradoState	0.80	$49,050	$46,537	45%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.78	$49,660	$45,770	49%
58	DelawareState	0.76	$44,850	$44,406	36%

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