Best Cities for Locomotive Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where locomotive engineerss 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	MississippiState	1.40	$96,710	$114,045	11%
2	OklahomaState	1.28	$91,970	$103,921	13%
3	IndianaState	1.26	$92,790	$102,530	14%
4	IowaState	1.24	$89,970	$100,863	13%
5	MassachusettsState	1.23	$108,790	$100,267	25%
6	New YorkState	1.19	$109,220	$97,084	20%
7	South CarolinaState	1.19	$89,290	$97,054	17%
8	IllinoisState	1.18	$93,320	$95,811	17%
9	New MexicoState	1.18	$88,330	$96,011	14%
10	MinnesotaState	1.17	$93,700	$95,612	16%
11	MontanaState	1.15	$90,220	$93,589	15%
12	WisconsinState	1.13	$84,550	$91,603	15%
13	ArkansasState	1.12	$78,930	$91,460	13%
14	FloridaState	1.12	$92,310	$90,946	22%
15	AlabamaState	1.09	$77,600	$89,093	15%
16	ArizonaState	1.09	$89,840	$89,039	20%
17	MissouriState	1.09	$78,820	$88,962	16%
18	TennesseeState	1.09	$81,410	$88,973	19%
19	KentuckyState	1.08	$77,620	$87,706	15%
20	VirginiaState	1.08	$90,780	$87,710	21%
21	ColoradoState	1.04	$89,360	$84,782	25%
22	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$82,460	$85,010	19%
23	WyomingState	1.04	$78,910	$84,849	15%
24	KansasState	1.03	$75,190	$83,544	17%
25	TexasState	1.02	$79,000	$82,636	21%
26	New JerseyState	0.98	$86,550	$79,550	25%
27	OregonState	0.94	$79,130	$76,825	24%
28	South DakotaState	0.94	$69,180	$76,189	17%
29	West VirginiaState	0.94	$64,400	$76,485	16%
30	LouisianaState	0.88	$64,200	$71,254	20%
31	CaliforniaState	0.86	$77,070	$69,621	35%
32	OhioState	0.86	$63,280	$70,000	20%
33	WashingtonState	0.84	$73,750	$68,733	31%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.83	$65,340	$67,222	29%
35	New HampshireState	0.82	$70,670	$66,670	27%
36	North CarolinaState	0.80	$61,190	$64,820	26%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.67	$63,700	$54,678	43%

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