Best Cities for Lighting Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where lighting technicianss 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	WashingtonState	1.73	$126,100	$117,521	18%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.62	$126,110	$110,332	21%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.32	$105,010	$90,137	26%
4	CaliforniaState	1.25	$94,070	$84,977	29%
5	New JerseyState	1.18	$87,550	$80,469	25%
6	OklahomaState	1.11	$67,110	$75,831	17%
7	GeorgiaState	1.10	$70,150	$75,107	24%
8	LouisianaState	1.09	$66,840	$74,184	19%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$70,150	$72,469	28%
10	New YorkState	1.02	$78,000	$69,333	28%
11	ConnecticutState	0.99	$72,450	$67,333	26%
12	TennesseeState	0.98	$60,870	$66,525	25%
13	MichiganState	0.96	$60,210	$65,233	22%
14	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$62,790	$65,270	30%
15	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.91	$60,250	$61,986	32%
16	FloridaState	0.90	$62,190	$61,271	33%
17	NevadaState	0.90	$61,250	$61,128	28%
18	OhioState	0.89	$54,940	$60,774	23%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$55,740	$59,615	28%
20	PennsylvaniaState	0.87	$57,660	$59,443	27%
21	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.87	$70,970	$59,043	53%
22	VirginiaState	0.86	$60,340	$58,300	31%
23	MontanaState	0.84	$54,870	$56,919	25%
24	OregonState	0.83	$57,900	$56,214	33%
25	TexasState	0.82	$53,150	$55,596	31%
26	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.82	$63,090	$55,931	38%
27	IndianaState	0.81	$50,080	$55,337	25%
28	MassachusettsState	0.81	$60,110	$55,401	45%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.81	$56,880	$54,957	34%
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$54,460	$55,289	38%
31	KansasState	0.80	$48,790	$54,211	25%
32	NebraskaState	0.80	$49,860	$54,492	25%
33	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$58,610	$54,018	42%
34	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.79	$58,280	$54,063	37%
35	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.78	$60,110	$52,960	51%
36	North CarolinaState	0.77	$49,410	$52,341	32%
37	South CarolinaState	0.75	$46,720	$50,783	32%
38	UtahState	0.72	$49,080	$48,982	36%
39	MissouriState	0.69	$41,900	$47,291	30%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.69	$50,030	$47,287	40%
41	MarylandState	0.66	$49,080	$44,945	41%

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