Best Cities for Machinistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where machinistss 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	HawaiiState	1.31	$84,410	$76,736	34%
2	AlaskaState	1.27	$77,670	$74,468	21%
3	LouisianaState	1.15	$61,110	$67,825	21%
4	WyomingState	1.15	$63,070	$67,817	19%
5	North DakotaState	1.14	$61,820	$66,760	19%
6	KentuckyState	1.13	$58,660	$66,282	20%
7	MissouriState	1.13	$58,710	$66,264	21%
8	MississippiState	1.12	$55,550	$65,507	19%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$59,310	$65,033	25%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$74,560	$65,232	35%
11	IowaState	1.10	$57,540	$64,507	20%
12	New MexicoState	1.10	$59,440	$64,609	21%
13	AlabamaState	1.09	$55,560	$63,789	21%
14	District of ColumbiaState	1.09	$72,900	$63,780	35%
15	IndianaState	1.09	$57,800	$63,867	22%
16	OhioState	1.09	$57,940	$64,093	22%
17	WisconsinState	1.09	$59,110	$64,041	22%
18	MontanaState	1.08	$60,920	$63,195	22%
19	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$72,060	$63,489	43%
20	South CarolinaState	1.07	$57,970	$63,011	26%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$60,210	$62,850	30%
22	DelawareState	1.06	$62,650	$62,030	26%
23	MassachusettsState	1.06	$67,270	$62,000	40%
24	MinnesotaState	1.06	$61,140	$62,388	25%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$62,070	$62,382	29%
26	OregonState	1.05	$63,820	$61,961	30%
27	TexasState	1.05	$59,180	$61,904	28%
28	WashingtonState	1.05	$66,160	$61,659	34%
29	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$57,940	$61,968	27%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$59,830	$61,553	32%
31	IdahoState	1.04	$58,810	$60,943	24%
32	NebraskaState	1.04	$55,860	$61,049	22%
33	UtahState	1.04	$61,280	$61,158	29%
34	VermontState	1.04	$62,680	$61,151	27%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$56,740	$61,142	27%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$68,850	$61,037	35%
37	ArizonaState	1.03	$61,080	$60,535	29%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$55,880	$60,411	25%
39	IllinoisState	1.02	$58,520	$60,082	27%
40	ArkansasState	1.01	$51,140	$59,258	21%
41	MaineState	1.01	$59,160	$59,279	26%
42	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$57,810	$59,598	27%
43	VirginiaState	1.01	$61,290	$59,217	31%
44	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$61,280	$59,208	31%
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$64,170	$59,527	34%
46	North CarolinaState	1.00	$55,230	$58,506	28%
47	New HampshireState	0.99	$61,500	$58,019	31%
48	New JerseyState	0.99	$63,190	$58,079	34%
49	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$56,270	$58,130	34%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$57,160	$58,030	36%
51	ConnecticutState	0.98	$62,130	$57,742	30%
52	OklahomaState	0.98	$51,120	$57,763	23%
53	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$57,760	$57,473	31%
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$53,190	$57,815	29%
55	ColoradoState	0.97	$60,200	$57,116	37%
56	KansasState	0.97	$51,220	$56,911	24%
57	MichiganState	0.97	$52,360	$56,728	26%
58	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$60,280	$56,975	33%
59	FloridaState	0.96	$57,140	$56,296	36%
60	GeorgiaState	0.96	$52,610	$56,328	32%
61	West VirginiaState	0.96	$47,350	$56,235	21%
62	South DakotaState	0.95	$50,890	$56,046	23%
63	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$60,700	$55,945	40%
64	MarylandState	0.93	$59,810	$54,771	34%
65	New YorkState	0.92	$60,920	$54,151	36%
66	TennesseeState	0.92	$49,600	$54,208	30%
67	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$51,430	$53,462	36%
68	NevadaState	0.90	$53,050	$52,944	33%
69	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.90	$63,540	$52,862	59%
70	CaliforniaState	0.88	$57,190	$51,662	48%
71	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.81	$55,660	$47,777	49%

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