Best Cities for Occupational Health and Safety Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where occupational health and safety specialistss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.19	$128,980	$107,304	29%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.17	$98,920	$105,797	16%
3	West VirginiaState	1.14	$86,560	$102,803	12%
4	IllinoisState	1.12	$98,270	$100,893	16%
5	North DakotaState	1.12	$93,250	$100,702	13%
6	OhioState	1.12	$91,460	$101,173	14%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.12	$101,740	$101,234	18%
8	WyomingState	1.12	$94,030	$101,108	13%
9	MississippiState	1.11	$84,490	$99,634	13%
10	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.11	$92,900	$100,108	17%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$99,170	$99,668	18%
12	LouisianaState	1.10	$89,560	$99,401	14%
13	MinnesotaState	1.10	$96,990	$98,969	16%
14	IowaState	1.09	$87,830	$98,464	13%
15	MaineState	1.09	$97,640	$97,836	16%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$111,530	$97,577	23%
17	South DakotaState	1.08	$88,610	$97,588	13%
18	ColoradoState	1.07	$101,400	$96,205	22%
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$88,080	$96,579	17%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$109,170	$96,782	22%
21	AlaskaState	1.06	$99,270	$95,177	17%
22	KansasState	1.06	$86,300	$95,889	14%
23	MassachusettsState	1.06	$103,970	$95,825	26%
24	New HampshireState	1.06	$101,260	$95,528	19%
25	South CarolinaState	1.06	$88,080	$95,739	17%
26	WashingtonState	1.06	$102,920	$95,918	22%
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$91,160	$95,157	20%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$109,500	$95,801	24%
29	AlabamaState	1.05	$82,260	$94,443	14%
30	KentuckyState	1.05	$83,730	$94,610	14%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$91,620	$94,649	21%
32	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$87,310	$94,389	16%
33	MissouriState	1.04	$83,090	$93,781	15%
34	NevadaState	1.04	$94,360	$94,172	18%
35	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$105,960	$93,357	29%
36	CaliforniaState	1.03	$102,840	$92,900	26%
37	OregonState	1.03	$95,240	$92,466	20%
38	IndianaState	1.02	$83,470	$92,232	15%
39	NebraskaState	1.02	$83,990	$91,792	15%
40	New MexicoState	1.02	$84,510	$91,859	15%
41	North CarolinaState	1.02	$86,650	$91,790	18%
42	WisconsinState	1.02	$84,750	$91,820	15%
43	GeorgiaState	1.01	$85,450	$91,488	20%
44	MichiganState	1.01	$84,080	$91,094	16%
45	IdahoState	1.00	$86,920	$90,073	17%
46	OklahomaState	1.00	$79,890	$90,271	15%
47	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$87,050	$89,742	18%
48	UtahState	1.00	$90,200	$90,020	20%
49	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.00	$97,410	$90,362	22%
50	ConnecticutState	0.99	$96,110	$89,322	20%
51	ArizonaState	0.98	$89,480	$88,682	20%
52	TennesseeState	0.98	$81,190	$88,732	19%
53	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$102,610	$88,077	26%
54	FloridaState	0.97	$88,820	$87,507	23%
55	VirginiaState	0.97	$90,800	$87,729	21%
56	HawaiiState	0.96	$94,840	$86,218	30%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$83,410	$86,705	22%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$85,490	$86,792	24%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$93,060	$85,770	26%
60	ArkansasState	0.94	$73,130	$84,739	14%
61	MontanaState	0.94	$81,330	$84,367	17%
62	New YorkState	0.94	$95,720	$85,084	23%
63	VermontState	0.94	$87,210	$85,083	20%
64	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$88,090	$85,111	22%
65	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$77,690	$84,446	20%
66	MarylandState	0.93	$91,820	$84,084	22%
67	New JerseyState	0.92	$90,610	$83,281	24%
68	TexasState	0.92	$79,660	$83,326	21%
69	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$81,000	$83,333	23%
70	DelawareState	0.89	$81,120	$80,317	20%
71	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.87	$83,440	$78,866	24%

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