Best Cities for Packers and Packagers, Hands

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where packers and packagers, hands 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	KansasState	1.36	$44,460	$49,400	28%
2	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.32	$44,460	$47,909	35%
3	MissouriState	1.17	$37,670	$42,517	33%
4	NebraskaState	1.17	$38,880	$42,492	32%
5	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.17	$43,970	$42,483	44%
6	IowaState	1.16	$37,470	$42,007	30%
7	KentuckyState	1.15	$36,850	$41,638	31%
8	IndianaState	1.14	$37,420	$41,348	34%
9	MinnesotaState	1.13	$40,310	$41,133	38%
10	OhioState	1.13	$37,000	$40,929	34%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$38,090	$40,738	41%
12	New JerseyState	1.11	$43,840	$40,294	49%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$39,890	$40,090	45%
14	AlaskaState	1.10	$41,670	$39,952	39%
15	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$36,120	$39,605	40%
16	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$36,650	$39,622	39%
17	ArkansasState	1.08	$33,930	$39,316	31%
18	MississippiState	1.08	$33,240	$39,198	32%
19	OklahomaState	1.08	$34,520	$39,006	34%
20	TennesseeState	1.08	$35,980	$39,322	42%
21	WisconsinState	1.08	$36,010	$39,014	36%
22	ColoradoState	1.07	$40,730	$38,643	54%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$37,030	$38,653	49%
24	MichiganState	1.06	$35,340	$38,288	38%
25	VermontState	1.06	$39,440	$38,478	43%
26	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$44,010	$38,504	60%
27	IdahoState	1.05	$36,920	$38,259	39%
28	PennsylvaniaState	1.05	$36,960	$38,103	42%
29	NevadaState	1.03	$37,400	$37,325	47%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$36,000	$37,422	52%
31	DelawareState	1.02	$37,290	$36,921	44%
32	IllinoisState	1.02	$36,090	$37,053	44%
33	AlabamaState	1.01	$31,770	$36,475	36%
34	ArizonaState	1.01	$37,060	$36,729	49%
35	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$36,730	$36,547	49%
36	WashingtonState	1.01	$39,220	$36,552	58%
37	MaineState	1.00	$36,330	$36,403	43%
38	MontanaState	1.00	$34,960	$36,266	39%
39	North CarolinaState	1.00	$34,360	$36,398	45%
40	District of ColumbiaState	0.99	$40,910	$35,792	62%
41	UtahState	0.99	$36,060	$35,988	50%
42	GeorgiaState	0.98	$33,260	$35,610	51%
43	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$32,760	$35,609	48%
44	OregonState	0.97	$36,190	$35,136	53%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$34,010	$35,134	57%
46	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.97	$42,410	$35,283	89%
47	South CarolinaState	0.96	$32,180	$34,978	47%
48	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$37,450	$34,740	57%
49	TexasState	0.95	$33,090	$34,613	50%
50	WyomingState	0.95	$32,110	$34,527	37%
51	North DakotaState	0.94	$31,440	$33,952	37%
52	West VirginiaState	0.94	$28,740	$34,133	35%
53	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$33,090	$34,043	57%
54	CaliforniaState	0.93	$37,260	$33,659	73%
55	VirginiaState	0.93	$35,000	$33,816	54%
56	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$35,820	$33,856	56%
57	ConnecticutState	0.92	$35,890	$33,355	52%
58	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$37,730	$33,449	63%
59	MarylandState	0.91	$35,860	$32,839	56%
60	New YorkState	0.91	$37,260	$33,120	60%
61	HawaiiState	0.90	$35,930	$32,664	80%
62	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$37,390	$32,094	73%
63	MassachusettsState	0.87	$34,200	$31,521	79%
64	South DakotaState	0.87	$28,760	$31,674	40%
65	LouisianaState	0.85	$27,710	$30,755	45%
66	New MexicoState	0.84	$28,070	$30,511	45%
67	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.82	$33,740	$29,727	91%
68	New HampshireState	0.80	$30,700	$28,962	62%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.78	$28,000	$28,426	74%
70	FloridaState	0.77	$28,280	$27,862	73%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.71	$27,970	$25,779	87%

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