Best Cities for Mechanical Drafterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where mechanical drafterss 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	New MexicoState	1.37	$89,940	$97,761	14%
2	LouisianaState	1.21	$77,730	$86,271	16%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.20	$83,200	$85,597	23%
4	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.19	$78,110	$84,902	20%
5	North DakotaState	1.17	$77,570	$83,769	15%
6	TexasState	1.16	$79,380	$83,033	21%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.16	$94,470	$82,651	28%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.15	$75,050	$82,292	19%
9	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$76,340	$82,263	20%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.14	$76,480	$81,797	20%
11	ColoradoState	1.13	$85,280	$80,911	26%
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.13	$97,450	$81,073	39%
13	KentuckyState	1.09	$68,880	$77,831	17%
14	MichiganState	1.09	$72,280	$78,310	19%
15	OhioState	1.09	$70,580	$78,075	18%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$75,360	$77,851	26%
17	West VirginiaState	1.08	$65,100	$77,316	15%
18	MaineState	1.07	$76,360	$76,513	20%
19	New JerseyState	1.07	$83,380	$76,636	26%
20	NevadaState	1.06	$75,830	$75,679	23%
21	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$75,770	$76,151	23%
22	MissouriState	1.05	$66,350	$74,887	19%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$69,550	$75,189	20%
24	CaliforniaState	1.04	$82,510	$74,535	33%
25	MinnesotaState	1.04	$73,090	$74,582	21%
26	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$78,350	$74,055	26%
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$80,510	$74,685	27%
28	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$72,170	$73,269	29%
29	KansasState	1.01	$65,250	$72,500	19%
30	GeorgiaState	1.00	$66,670	$71,381	25%
31	MississippiState	1.00	$60,460	$71,297	18%
32	OklahomaState	1.00	$63,440	$71,684	18%
33	OregonState	1.00	$74,000	$71,845	26%
34	VermontState	1.00	$73,040	$71,259	23%
35	WashingtonState	1.00	$76,820	$71,594	30%
36	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$74,100	$71,594	26%
37	IowaState	0.99	$63,330	$70,998	18%
38	MarylandState	0.98	$76,740	$70,275	26%
39	UtahState	0.98	$70,000	$69,860	26%
40	ArkansasState	0.97	$59,960	$69,479	18%
41	IndianaState	0.97	$62,820	$69,414	20%
42	MassachusettsState	0.97	$75,490	$69,576	36%
43	South CarolinaState	0.97	$63,740	$69,283	24%
44	TennesseeState	0.97	$63,390	$69,279	24%
45	WisconsinState	0.97	$63,770	$69,090	20%
46	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$80,780	$69,339	34%
47	Rhode IslandState	0.96	$69,290	$68,945	26%
48	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$78,210	$68,907	39%
49	New YorkState	0.95	$76,490	$67,991	29%
50	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$76,600	$67,908	31%
51	FloridaState	0.94	$68,050	$67,044	30%
52	VirginiaState	0.94	$69,630	$67,275	27%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$73,230	$67,493	33%
54	ArizonaState	0.93	$67,410	$66,809	27%
55	NebraskaState	0.93	$61,170	$66,852	21%
56	WyomingState	0.92	$61,070	$65,667	19%
57	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$62,890	$65,647	29%
58	IllinoisState	0.91	$63,320	$65,010	25%
59	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$63,480	$65,443	24%
60	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$62,420	$64,886	30%
61	ConnecticutState	0.89	$68,830	$63,968	27%
62	North CarolinaState	0.87	$59,050	$62,553	26%
63	AlabamaState	0.86	$53,600	$61,538	21%
64	IdahoState	0.86	$59,050	$61,192	24%
65	South DakotaState	0.81	$52,610	$57,941	22%
66	DelawareState	0.79	$57,110	$56,545	28%
67	New HampshireState	0.73	$55,390	$52,255	34%

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