Best Cities for Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where metal workers and plastic 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	OklahomaState	1.60	$65,040	$73,492	18%
2	HawaiiState	1.54	$78,000	$70,909	37%
3	KentuckyState	1.51	$61,320	$69,288	19%
4	AlabamaState	1.36	$54,360	$62,411	21%
5	WashingtonState	1.33	$65,760	$61,286	35%
6	IndianaState	1.32	$54,890	$60,652	23%
7	MontanaState	1.28	$56,740	$58,859	24%
8	New MexicoState	1.26	$53,080	$57,696	24%
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$65,760	$57,533	40%
10	MissouriState	1.20	$48,920	$55,214	25%
11	UtahState	1.19	$54,940	$54,830	33%
12	New YorkState	1.17	$60,740	$53,991	37%
13	MinnesotaState	1.15	$51,990	$53,051	30%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.15	$48,890	$52,854	29%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.15	$57,140	$53,006	38%
16	IowaState	1.14	$46,570	$52,209	25%
17	IllinoisState	1.11	$49,570	$50,893	32%
18	LouisianaState	1.10	$45,680	$50,699	28%
19	South CarolinaState	1.10	$46,470	$50,511	32%
20	OhioState	1.09	$45,180	$49,978	28%
21	VirginiaState	1.09	$51,690	$49,942	37%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$48,890	$50,298	39%
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.09	$49,630	$49,879	36%
24	ColoradoState	1.08	$52,430	$49,744	42%
25	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$45,830	$49,815	34%
26	WisconsinState	1.06	$45,100	$48,862	29%
27	OregonState	1.05	$49,510	$48,068	39%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$51,030	$48,233	39%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$50,070	$48,377	38%
30	North CarolinaState	1.04	$45,190	$47,871	35%
31	TexasState	1.04	$45,560	$47,657	36%
32	ArkansasState	1.02	$40,570	$47,010	26%
33	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$45,350	$46,753	34%
34	ArizonaState	1.01	$47,050	$46,630	38%
35	NevadaState	1.01	$46,440	$46,347	38%
36	MarylandState	1.00	$50,280	$46,044	40%
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$44,440	$45,909	44%
38	GeorgiaState	0.98	$42,030	$45,000	40%
39	New HampshireState	0.98	$47,830	$45,123	40%
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$42,950	$44,833	42%
41	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$53,930	$44,867	70%
42	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.97	$40,650	$44,572	36%
43	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$50,050	$44,097	61%
44	MichiganState	0.95	$40,110	$43,456	33%
45	MassachusettsState	0.94	$47,060	$43,373	58%
46	CaliforniaState	0.93	$47,380	$42,800	57%
47	MaineState	0.91	$41,600	$41,683	37%
48	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$47,860	$41,082	57%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$39,330	$40,884	47%
50	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$45,630	$40,452	52%
51	TennesseeState	0.87	$36,770	$40,186	41%
52	ConnecticutState	0.81	$40,260	$37,416	47%
53	FloridaState	0.77	$36,040	$35,507	57%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.73	$36,490	$33,631	67%
55	New JerseyState	0.68	$33,790	$31,057	64%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.68	$30,800	$31,269	67%

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