Best Cities for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where operating engineers and other construction equipment operatorss 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	HawaiiState	1.76	$115,860	$105,327	25%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.73	$124,340	$103,444	30%
3	IllinoisState	1.68	$97,740	$100,349	16%
4	IndianaState	1.47	$79,580	$87,934	16%
5	Columbus, OHMetro	1.41	$78,950	$84,439	20%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.40	$83,340	$83,759	21%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.40	$95,750	$83,771	28%
8	New JerseyState	1.38	$89,660	$82,408	24%
9	WisconsinState	1.36	$75,280	$81,560	17%
10	MinnesotaState	1.35	$79,130	$80,745	19%
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.33	$92,890	$79,734	29%
12	CaliforniaState	1.32	$87,160	$78,735	31%
13	WashingtonState	1.27	$81,700	$76,142	28%
14	AlaskaState	1.25	$77,810	$74,602	21%
15	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.25	$68,130	$74,704	21%
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.23	$79,040	$73,321	27%
17	ConnecticutState	1.22	$78,750	$73,188	24%
18	New YorkState	1.20	$80,980	$71,982	27%
19	OhioState	1.20	$64,940	$71,836	19%
20	NevadaState	1.19	$71,410	$71,267	24%
21	OregonState	1.19	$73,430	$71,291	26%
22	MassachusettsState	1.18	$76,820	$70,802	35%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$64,060	$69,030	24%
24	MissouriState	1.14	$60,540	$68,330	21%
25	IowaState	1.13	$60,330	$67,635	19%
26	MichiganState	1.13	$62,690	$67,920	21%
27	WyomingState	1.13	$62,960	$67,699	19%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$76,940	$67,789	40%
29	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.13	$62,320	$67,373	23%
30	North DakotaState	1.12	$62,150	$67,117	19%
31	District of ColumbiaState	1.09	$74,610	$65,276	34%
32	KentuckyState	1.09	$57,780	$65,288	20%
33	South DakotaState	1.09	$59,500	$65,529	19%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$66,810	$64,551	29%
35	IdahoState	1.07	$61,680	$63,917	23%
36	MontanaState	1.07	$61,580	$63,880	22%
37	NebraskaState	1.07	$58,360	$63,781	21%
38	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$63,610	$63,294	28%
39	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$60,530	$62,402	26%
40	West VirginiaState	1.02	$51,300	$60,926	20%
41	UtahState	1.01	$60,740	$60,619	29%
42	ArizonaState	1.00	$60,620	$60,079	30%
43	ColoradoState	0.99	$62,620	$59,412	35%
44	New HampshireState	0.98	$62,200	$58,679	31%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$56,030	$58,243	33%
46	DelawareState	0.96	$58,020	$57,446	28%
47	KansasState	0.96	$51,620	$57,356	24%
48	LouisianaState	0.96	$51,700	$57,381	24%
49	VermontState	0.96	$58,870	$57,434	29%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$60,740	$57,410	33%
51	TennesseeState	0.95	$52,000	$56,831	29%
52	MaineState	0.94	$56,140	$56,253	28%
53	MarylandState	0.94	$61,410	$56,236	33%
54	New MexicoState	0.94	$52,000	$56,522	24%
55	MississippiState	0.93	$47,410	$55,908	23%
56	VirginiaState	0.92	$57,160	$55,227	33%
57	AlabamaState	0.91	$47,520	$54,558	24%
58	OklahomaState	0.91	$47,970	$54,203	24%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$61,660	$54,663	39%
60	South CarolinaState	0.89	$48,940	$53,196	31%
61	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$50,870	$53,100	35%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$48,750	$52,989	32%
63	TexasState	0.88	$50,460	$52,782	33%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$51,370	$52,850	37%
65	North CarolinaState	0.87	$49,310	$52,235	32%
66	ArkansasState	0.86	$44,520	$51,587	24%
67	GeorgiaState	0.86	$47,880	$51,263	35%
68	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.85	$49,430	$51,064	39%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$50,300	$51,066	41%
70	FloridaState	0.81	$49,400	$48,670	42%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$51,800	$47,742	47%

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