Best Cities for Maintenance Workers, Machinerys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where maintenance workers, machinerys 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	WyomingState	1.50	$84,620	$90,989	14%
2	KentuckyState	1.42	$76,710	$86,678	15%
3	NevadaState	1.24	$75,500	$75,349	23%
4	IowaState	1.19	$64,760	$72,601	18%
5	New HampshireState	1.19	$77,070	$72,708	25%
6	MissouriState	1.18	$63,720	$71,919	19%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.18	$72,040	$71,682	25%
8	West VirginiaState	1.17	$60,020	$71,283	17%
9	South CarolinaState	1.16	$64,910	$70,554	23%
10	TennesseeState	1.16	$64,790	$70,809	23%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$69,940	$70,291	25%
12	WisconsinState	1.15	$64,310	$69,675	20%
13	AlabamaState	1.14	$60,560	$69,529	19%
14	LouisianaState	1.14	$62,640	$69,523	20%
15	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$63,190	$69,287	23%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.13	$63,700	$68,642	24%
17	KansasState	1.10	$60,160	$66,844	21%
18	NebraskaState	1.10	$61,190	$66,874	20%
19	OklahomaState	1.10	$58,970	$66,633	20%
20	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.10	$64,650	$67,204	29%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$62,140	$66,460	25%
22	OhioState	1.08	$59,280	$65,575	21%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$60,920	$65,859	23%
24	MichiganState	1.06	$59,590	$64,561	23%
25	MinnesotaState	1.06	$63,020	$64,306	24%
26	MississippiState	1.05	$54,380	$64,127	20%
27	North CarolinaState	1.05	$60,580	$64,174	26%
28	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$58,650	$63,750	27%
29	VirginiaState	1.04	$65,500	$63,285	29%
30	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$60,580	$63,236	30%
31	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$61,080	$62,969	25%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$60,770	$62,521	31%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$72,750	$62,446	37%
34	GeorgiaState	1.02	$57,730	$61,809	29%
35	TexasState	1.02	$59,280	$62,008	28%
36	ArkansasState	1.01	$53,250	$61,703	20%
37	CaliforniaState	1.01	$67,840	$61,283	40%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$63,770	$61,614	30%
39	ColoradoState	1.00	$64,010	$60,731	35%
40	IllinoisState	1.00	$59,300	$60,883	27%
41	UtahState	1.00	$60,850	$60,729	29%
42	New YorkState	0.99	$67,610	$60,098	33%
43	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$59,100	$60,000	35%
44	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$71,530	$59,509	53%
45	AlaskaState	0.97	$61,290	$58,763	27%
46	ConnecticutState	0.97	$63,250	$58,783	30%
47	IdahoState	0.96	$56,250	$58,290	26%
48	WashingtonState	0.96	$62,970	$58,686	36%
49	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$56,340	$58,202	34%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$59,570	$56,304	34%
51	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$64,940	$56,815	41%
52	OregonState	0.92	$57,440	$55,767	33%
53	ArizonaState	0.91	$56,130	$55,629	32%
54	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$62,520	$54,698	40%
55	MarylandState	0.90	$59,570	$54,551	34%
56	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$59,620	$54,949	41%
57	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$59,270	$54,981	36%
58	IndianaState	0.89	$48,760	$53,878	26%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$60,960	$54,043	39%
60	New JerseyState	0.87	$57,920	$53,235	37%
61	MaineState	0.86	$52,300	$52,405	30%
62	FloridaState	0.84	$51,900	$51,133	40%
63	MassachusettsState	0.83	$55,000	$50,691	49%
64	South DakotaState	0.82	$45,240	$49,824	25%
65	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.80	$55,010	$48,467	56%
66	New MexicoState	0.65	$36,240	$39,391	35%

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