Best Cities for Material Moving Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where material moving workers, all others 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	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.72	$81,700	$71,982	38%
2	WashingtonState	1.60	$71,640	$66,766	32%
3	KentuckyState	1.56	$57,550	$65,028	20%
4	AlabamaState	1.45	$52,710	$60,517	22%
5	MontanaState	1.43	$57,620	$59,772	23%
6	New JerseyState	1.43	$64,870	$59,623	33%
7	ColoradoState	1.39	$61,240	$58,102	36%
8	IowaState	1.37	$50,960	$57,130	22%
9	IndianaState	1.32	$50,040	$55,293	25%
10	MinnesotaState	1.30	$53,160	$54,245	29%
11	New HampshireState	1.30	$57,720	$54,453	33%
12	New YorkState	1.30	$60,960	$54,187	36%
13	GeorgiaState	1.28	$50,160	$53,704	34%
14	OklahomaState	1.28	$47,260	$53,401	25%
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.26	$55,640	$52,590	36%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.24	$50,160	$51,818	39%
17	MaineState	1.23	$51,450	$51,553	30%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.21	$50,170	$50,422	35%
19	NebraskaState	1.16	$44,510	$48,645	28%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.16	$44,270	$48,542	33%
21	VirginiaState	1.15	$49,770	$48,087	38%
22	ArizonaState	1.14	$48,260	$47,830	37%
23	MichiganState	1.14	$44,090	$47,768	30%
24	OregonState	1.14	$48,950	$47,524	39%
25	VermontState	1.14	$49,040	$47,844	35%
26	MarylandState	1.12	$51,190	$46,877	39%
27	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.11	$52,170	$46,250	46%
28	AlaskaState	1.10	$48,150	$46,165	34%
29	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$42,040	$45,696	37%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$41,610	$44,838	37%
31	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$48,230	$44,740	45%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$43,010	$44,249	44%
33	ConnecticutState	1.04	$46,840	$43,532	40%
34	MissouriState	1.04	$38,570	$43,533	32%
35	NevadaState	1.03	$42,970	$42,884	41%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$41,690	$42,979	37%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$39,900	$43,135	35%
38	South CarolinaState	1.02	$39,370	$42,793	38%
39	TexasState	1.02	$40,780	$42,657	41%
40	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$44,100	$42,609	43%
41	ArkansasState	0.99	$35,650	$41,309	30%
42	North CarolinaState	0.99	$38,960	$41,271	40%
43	IllinoisState	0.98	$39,870	$40,934	39%
44	TennesseeState	0.98	$37,530	$41,016	40%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$37,530	$39,012	50%
46	WisconsinState	0.92	$35,580	$38,548	37%
47	FloridaState	0.89	$37,580	$37,025	55%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$35,520	$37,077	51%
49	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.89	$44,510	$37,030	85%
50	OhioState	0.88	$33,420	$36,969	38%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$36,090	$36,640	57%
52	UtahState	0.87	$36,330	$36,257	49%
53	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$33,950	$36,310	46%
54	CaliforniaState	0.83	$38,410	$34,697	71%
55	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$37,580	$34,636	65%
56	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.77	$37,530	$32,215	72%

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