Best Cities for Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Enginess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except enginess 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	North DakotaState	1.25	$76,030	$82,106	15%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.25	$81,290	$81,698	22%
3	MinnesotaState	1.24	$79,370	$80,990	19%
4	NevadaState	1.22	$79,860	$79,701	22%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.22	$95,980	$79,850	39%
6	AlaskaState	1.21	$82,670	$79,262	20%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$72,220	$79,189	20%
8	WyomingState	1.20	$73,200	$78,710	16%
9	MontanaState	1.15	$72,560	$75,270	19%
10	AlabamaState	1.12	$63,850	$73,307	18%
11	IllinoisState	1.12	$71,370	$73,275	22%
12	South DakotaState	1.12	$66,730	$73,491	17%
13	WashingtonState	1.12	$78,620	$73,271	29%
14	ConnecticutState	1.11	$78,190	$72,667	24%
15	OregonState	1.11	$74,740	$72,563	26%
16	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$67,920	$72,642	23%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$78,520	$72,839	27%
18	HawaiiState	1.10	$79,170	$71,973	36%
19	IowaState	1.10	$64,290	$72,074	18%
20	MichiganState	1.10	$66,680	$72,243	20%
21	New JerseyState	1.10	$78,180	$71,857	28%
22	MissouriState	1.09	$63,390	$71,546	20%
23	NebraskaState	1.09	$65,150	$71,202	19%
24	CaliforniaState	1.08	$78,550	$70,958	35%
25	IndianaState	1.08	$64,200	$70,939	20%
26	WisconsinState	1.08	$65,450	$70,910	20%
27	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$81,090	$70,945	33%
28	ArkansasState	1.07	$60,530	$70,139	17%
29	MassachusettsState	1.07	$76,070	$70,111	36%
30	OhioState	1.07	$63,200	$69,912	20%
31	New MexicoState	1.06	$63,630	$69,163	20%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$66,420	$69,332	27%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$81,000	$69,528	34%
34	LouisianaState	1.05	$62,260	$69,101	20%
35	MississippiState	1.05	$58,180	$68,608	18%
36	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$63,850	$68,804	24%
37	ColoradoState	1.04	$71,830	$68,150	31%
38	North CarolinaState	1.04	$64,080	$67,881	24%
39	IdahoState	1.03	$64,830	$67,181	22%
40	KansasState	1.03	$60,890	$67,656	20%
41	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$68,130	$67,791	27%
42	TennesseeState	1.03	$61,880	$67,628	24%
43	West VirginiaState	1.03	$56,810	$67,470	18%
44	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$76,770	$67,639	40%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$65,030	$67,599	29%
46	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$62,350	$67,405	23%
47	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$61,810	$67,185	25%
48	KentuckyState	1.02	$59,220	$66,915	19%
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$69,080	$66,744	28%
50	DelawareState	1.01	$67,010	$66,347	24%
51	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$63,870	$65,845	24%
52	OklahomaState	1.00	$58,130	$65,684	20%
53	GeorgiaState	0.99	$60,560	$64,839	28%
54	New HampshireState	0.99	$68,570	$64,689	28%
55	TexasState	0.99	$61,940	$64,791	27%
56	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$62,860	$64,671	30%
57	ArizonaState	0.98	$64,980	$64,400	28%
58	South CarolinaState	0.98	$59,180	$64,326	25%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$62,950	$63,909	33%
60	UtahState	0.97	$63,580	$63,453	28%
61	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$71,540	$63,422	33%
62	FloridaState	0.96	$63,550	$62,611	32%
63	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$60,730	$62,738	32%
64	District of ColumbiaState	0.95	$70,780	$61,925	36%
65	MarylandState	0.95	$68,250	$62,500	30%
66	VermontState	0.95	$64,020	$62,459	27%
67	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$66,170	$62,543	30%
68	MaineState	0.94	$61,280	$61,403	25%
69	VirginiaState	0.94	$63,950	$61,787	30%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$65,820	$60,664	37%
71	New YorkState	0.90	$66,310	$58,942	33%

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