Best Cities for Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where mechanical engineering technologists and technicianss 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	LouisianaState	1.53	$102,800	$114,095	12%
2	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.45	$100,150	$107,920	15%
3	New MexicoState	1.42	$97,560	$106,043	13%
4	MissouriState	1.40	$92,150	$104,007	13%
5	KentuckyState	1.18	$77,990	$88,124	15%
6	NebraskaState	1.17	$80,050	$87,486	16%
7	OhioState	1.17	$78,500	$86,836	16%
8	IndianaState	1.15	$77,220	$85,326	16%
9	Columbus, OHMetro	1.15	$80,330	$85,914	19%
10	MississippiState	1.12	$70,570	$83,219	15%
11	North DakotaState	1.11	$76,440	$82,549	15%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$81,600	$81,194	22%
13	IowaState	1.08	$71,670	$80,348	16%
14	TexasState	1.08	$76,610	$80,136	22%
15	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$96,680	$80,433	39%
16	CaliforniaState	1.06	$87,390	$78,943	31%
17	GeorgiaState	1.06	$73,870	$79,090	23%
18	IllinoisState	1.06	$77,020	$79,076	20%
19	OregonState	1.05	$80,840	$78,485	24%
20	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$72,180	$78,032	20%
21	ConnecticutState	1.03	$82,660	$76,822	23%
22	DelawareState	1.03	$77,820	$77,050	21%
23	MaineState	1.03	$76,790	$76,944	20%
24	South CarolinaState	1.02	$69,580	$75,630	22%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$80,120	$75,728	25%
26	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$69,490	$76,195	21%
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$81,280	$75,399	26%
28	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.00	$68,540	$74,500	23%
29	MichiganState	0.99	$68,170	$73,857	20%
30	WashingtonState	0.99	$79,410	$74,007	29%
31	WisconsinState	0.99	$67,850	$73,510	19%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$71,910	$73,981	26%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$70,880	$73,680	26%
34	ColoradoState	0.98	$77,090	$73,140	29%
35	NevadaState	0.98	$72,950	$72,804	24%
36	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$70,820	$73,010	22%
37	VirginiaState	0.98	$75,650	$73,092	25%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$70,990	$73,337	27%
39	MarylandState	0.97	$79,180	$72,509	25%
40	ArizonaState	0.96	$72,090	$71,447	25%
41	IdahoState	0.95	$68,310	$70,788	21%
42	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.95	$80,860	$70,744	33%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$72,690	$70,232	26%
44	AlabamaState	0.93	$60,350	$69,288	19%
45	New YorkState	0.93	$78,210	$69,520	28%
46	OklahomaState	0.93	$61,480	$69,469	19%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$77,480	$68,688	31%
48	TennesseeState	0.91	$62,270	$68,055	24%
49	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$79,080	$67,880	34%
50	North CarolinaState	0.89	$62,360	$66,059	25%
51	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$63,770	$66,566	28%
52	MinnesotaState	0.88	$63,990	$65,296	24%
53	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.88	$65,020	$65,347	27%
54	New HampshireState	0.85	$66,740	$62,962	28%
55	KansasState	0.83	$55,390	$61,544	22%
56	UtahState	0.83	$61,870	$61,747	29%
57	New JerseyState	0.80	$65,180	$59,908	33%
58	FloridaState	0.79	$59,720	$58,837	35%
59	South DakotaState	0.79	$53,670	$59,108	21%
60	MassachusettsState	0.77	$62,390	$57,502	43%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$56,580	$57,442	36%
62	West VirginiaState	0.76	$47,660	$56,603	21%
63	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.74	$62,390	$54,969	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).