Best Cities for Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where miscellaneous construction and related workerss 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	1.68	$77,370	$83,643	18%
2	MaineState	1.51	$75,340	$75,491	21%
3	North DakotaState	1.44	$66,450	$71,760	18%
4	WisconsinState	1.37	$63,320	$68,602	21%
5	IdahoState	1.36	$65,420	$67,793	22%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.34	$62,430	$66,770	25%
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.32	$74,880	$65,974	41%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$75,550	$66,098	35%
9	MassachusettsState	1.30	$70,540	$65,014	38%
10	WashingtonState	1.30	$69,380	$64,660	33%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.29	$58,670	$64,331	25%
12	New JerseyState	1.20	$65,330	$60,046	33%
13	OhioState	1.20	$54,020	$59,757	23%
14	HawaiiState	1.18	$64,960	$59,055	44%
15	MichiganState	1.17	$53,800	$58,288	25%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.17	$60,200	$58,164	32%
17	MinnesotaState	1.14	$55,880	$57,020	27%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.14	$54,950	$56,649	28%
19	IndianaState	1.11	$50,210	$55,481	25%
20	CaliforniaState	1.10	$60,890	$55,005	45%
21	LouisianaState	1.10	$49,660	$55,117	25%
22	New HampshireState	1.10	$58,000	$54,717	33%
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$54,870	$55,146	32%
24	New MexicoState	1.09	$49,930	$54,272	25%
25	IowaState	1.06	$46,990	$52,679	24%
26	OklahomaState	1.05	$46,460	$52,497	25%
27	South CarolinaState	1.05	$48,080	$52,261	31%
28	West VirginiaState	1.05	$44,300	$52,613	23%
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$60,880	$52,258	45%
30	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.05	$62,980	$52,396	60%
31	ColoradoState	1.03	$54,380	$51,594	41%
32	NevadaState	1.03	$51,430	$51,327	34%
33	KansasState	1.02	$45,950	$51,056	27%
34	MissouriState	1.02	$45,090	$50,892	28%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$48,540	$50,668	37%
36	North CarolinaState	1.01	$47,510	$50,328	33%
37	GeorgiaState	1.00	$46,430	$49,711	37%
38	IllinoisState	1.00	$48,780	$50,082	32%
39	New YorkState	1.00	$56,170	$49,929	39%
40	TexasState	1.00	$47,840	$50,042	35%
41	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$48,380	$49,774	39%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.00	$46,220	$49,806	33%
43	ArkansasState	0.99	$42,670	$49,444	25%
44	OregonState	0.99	$51,110	$49,621	37%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$45,280	$49,217	35%
46	MontanaState	0.98	$47,280	$49,046	29%
47	UtahState	0.98	$48,880	$48,782	37%
48	VirginiaState	0.97	$49,880	$48,193	38%
49	VermontState	0.96	$49,110	$47,912	35%
50	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$53,990	$47,863	44%
51	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$51,110	$47,412	42%
52	ArizonaState	0.94	$47,550	$47,126	38%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$45,500	$47,004	43%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$49,220	$46,522	41%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$44,500	$46,258	42%
56	ConnecticutState	0.92	$49,380	$45,892	38%
57	MarylandState	0.91	$49,840	$45,641	40%
58	TennesseeState	0.91	$41,600	$45,464	36%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$49,510	$45,631	49%
60	AlaskaState	0.90	$46,730	$44,803	35%
61	FloridaState	0.89	$45,120	$44,453	46%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.87	$42,670	$43,320	48%
63	MississippiState	0.86	$36,260	$42,759	30%
64	DelawareState	0.85	$43,060	$42,634	38%
65	KentuckyState	0.80	$35,420	$40,023	32%

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