Best Cities for Meter Readers, Utilitiess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where meter readers, utilitiess 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	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.76	$78,290	$84,638	18%
2	PennsylvaniaState	1.68	$78,450	$80,876	20%
3	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.67	$83,350	$80,531	23%
4	NevadaState	1.58	$76,120	$75,968	23%
5	MinnesotaState	1.57	$73,930	$75,439	21%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.57	$75,020	$75,397	24%
7	CaliforniaState	1.48	$79,040	$71,400	34%
8	West VirginiaState	1.47	$59,430	$70,582	17%
9	IowaState	1.42	$60,940	$68,318	19%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.41	$61,910	$67,884	24%
11	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.38	$61,830	$66,627	25%
12	MichiganState	1.37	$60,870	$65,948	22%
13	WyomingState	1.37	$61,470	$66,097	19%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.35	$74,030	$64,768	36%
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.34	$75,140	$64,498	36%
16	ColoradoState	1.31	$66,550	$63,140	33%
17	IllinoisState	1.29	$60,690	$62,310	26%
18	OregonState	1.28	$63,660	$61,806	30%
19	WashingtonState	1.28	$65,900	$61,417	35%
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.26	$65,600	$60,853	33%
21	AlaskaState	1.25	$62,690	$60,105	26%
22	ConnecticutState	1.24	$64,180	$59,647	29%
23	DelawareState	1.20	$58,240	$57,663	28%
24	New JerseyState	1.20	$63,030	$57,932	34%
25	Rhode IslandState	1.17	$56,830	$56,547	32%
26	KansasState	1.15	$49,870	$55,411	25%
27	MissouriState	1.15	$49,150	$55,474	25%
28	IndianaState	1.13	$49,200	$54,365	26%
29	New MexicoState	1.10	$48,530	$52,750	26%
30	OhioState	1.10	$47,780	$52,854	26%
31	AlabamaState	1.09	$45,710	$52,480	25%
32	South CarolinaState	1.08	$47,850	$52,011	31%
33	New YorkState	1.05	$56,960	$50,631	39%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$47,430	$50,727	33%
35	KentuckyState	1.04	$44,450	$50,226	26%
36	MassachusettsState	1.04	$54,150	$49,908	50%
37	TennesseeState	1.03	$45,210	$49,410	33%
38	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$47,100	$48,960	40%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$45,980	$47,996	39%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$54,160	$47,718	57%
41	HawaiiState	0.98	$51,910	$47,191	55%
42	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$42,970	$46,707	36%
43	GeorgiaState	0.96	$43,140	$46,188	39%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$44,670	$45,957	43%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$50,810	$45,044	47%
46	OklahomaState	0.93	$39,480	$44,610	29%
47	TexasState	0.93	$43,030	$45,010	39%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$43,140	$44,566	45%
49	ArizonaState	0.92	$44,760	$44,361	40%
50	North CarolinaState	0.92	$41,830	$44,311	37%
51	MississippiState	0.91	$37,120	$43,774	29%
52	ArkansasState	0.90	$37,340	$43,268	28%
53	VirginiaState	0.88	$44,020	$42,531	43%
54	LouisianaState	0.87	$37,570	$41,698	33%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$40,100	$40,711	51%
56	FloridaState	0.83	$40,610	$40,010	51%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$42,280	$38,968	58%

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