Best Cities for Nuclear Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nuclear 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	New MexicoState	1.33	$164,300	$178,587	8%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.27	$195,190	$170,770	13%
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.19	$180,360	$159,894	13%
4	CaliforniaState	1.16	$172,400	$155,736	16%
5	AlabamaState	1.14	$132,570	$152,204	9%
6	MarylandState	1.08	$157,960	$144,652	13%
7	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$133,250	$144,054	11%
8	GeorgiaState	1.06	$132,440	$141,799	13%
9	MichiganState	1.05	$129,940	$140,780	10%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$161,050	$140,901	16%
11	IdahoState	1.04	$133,970	$138,829	11%
12	North CarolinaState	1.04	$131,850	$139,672	12%
13	IllinoisState	1.03	$134,510	$138,101	12%
14	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$133,250	$137,371	12%
15	South CarolinaState	1.03	$126,570	$137,576	12%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$131,850	$137,630	14%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$140,590	$135,836	14%
18	FloridaState	1.00	$135,400	$133,399	15%
19	MassachusettsState	1.00	$145,760	$134,341	19%
20	TexasState	1.00	$128,340	$134,247	13%
21	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.95	$144,830	$127,604	21%
22	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$138,220	$127,392	18%
23	New YorkState	0.94	$141,200	$125,511	16%
24	MaineState	0.93	$123,780	$124,028	13%
25	VirginiaState	0.93	$128,890	$124,531	15%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$119,580	$123,533	16%
27	WashingtonState	0.90	$129,480	$120,671	18%

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