Best Cities for Model Makers, Metal and Plastics

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where model makers, metal and plastics 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	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.46	$89,960	$92,551	21%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.40	$81,110	$88,936	18%
3	CaliforniaState	1.33	$92,960	$83,975	29%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.29	$94,950	$81,502	29%
5	FloridaState	1.24	$79,930	$78,749	26%
6	IllinoisState	1.12	$68,890	$70,729	23%
7	IndianaState	1.09	$62,620	$69,193	20%
8	IowaState	1.09	$61,550	$69,002	19%
9	New YorkState	1.09	$77,710	$69,076	29%
10	TexasState	1.09	$65,920	$68,954	25%
11	OhioState	1.06	$60,880	$67,345	21%
12	New JerseyState	1.05	$72,340	$66,489	30%
13	MichiganState	1.04	$60,540	$65,590	22%
14	MassachusettsState	0.99	$67,830	$62,516	40%
15	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$70,980	$62,537	43%
16	Rhode IslandState	0.87	$55,560	$55,284	33%
17	PennsylvaniaState	0.86	$52,990	$54,629	29%
18	UtahState	0.85	$53,650	$53,543	33%
19	North CarolinaState	0.77	$45,760	$48,475	34%

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