Best Cities for Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineerss 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	1.40	$131,660	$148,768	9%
2	CaliforniaState	1.34	$158,130	$142,846	17%
3	IdahoState	1.21	$123,680	$128,166	12%
4	WyomingState	1.20	$119,010	$127,968	10%
5	IndianaState	1.18	$113,640	$125,569	11%
6	UtahState	1.18	$125,520	$125,269	14%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.17	$144,230	$123,803	19%
8	AlaskaState	1.12	$124,630	$119,492	13%
9	AlabamaState	1.11	$102,530	$117,715	11%
10	KentuckyState	1.10	$103,300	$116,723	11%
11	West VirginiaState	1.10	$97,960	$116,342	10%
12	FloridaState	1.09	$117,500	$115,764	18%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.05	$119,990	$111,308	18%
14	IllinoisState	1.04	$107,690	$110,565	15%
15	MontanaState	1.03	$105,410	$109,346	13%
16	TennesseeState	1.03	$100,390	$109,716	15%
17	NevadaState	1.01	$107,500	$107,285	16%
18	South CarolinaState	1.01	$98,790	$107,380	15%
19	MichiganState	0.99	$97,310	$105,428	14%
20	TexasState	0.99	$100,580	$105,209	17%
21	WisconsinState	0.98	$95,950	$103,954	14%
22	ArizonaState	0.95	$102,130	$101,219	18%
23	VirginiaState	0.95	$104,960	$101,411	18%
24	OhioState	0.90	$86,210	$95,365	15%
25	MinnesotaState	0.88	$91,610	$93,480	17%
26	OregonState	0.88	$96,210	$93,408	20%
27	ColoradoState	0.86	$96,820	$91,860	23%
28	PennsylvaniaState	0.84	$87,020	$89,711	18%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.81	$78,720	$86,316	19%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.76	$74,900	$80,973	19%
31	North CarolinaState	0.70	$70,310	$74,481	22%
32	New YorkState	0.69	$82,200	$73,067	27%

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