Best Cities for Patternmakers, Metal and Plastics

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where patternmakers, 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	OhioState	1.86	$97,690	$108,064	13%
2	MinnesotaState	1.32	$74,900	$76,429	21%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.30	$74,900	$75,276	24%
4	AlabamaState	1.23	$62,290	$71,515	18%
5	IowaState	1.23	$63,420	$71,099	18%
6	IndianaState	1.04	$54,740	$60,486	23%
7	MassachusettsState	1.04	$65,210	$60,101	41%
8	MichiganState	1.00	$53,780	$58,267	25%
9	WisconsinState	0.97	$52,150	$56,501	25%
10	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$54,150	$55,825	29%
11	WashingtonState	0.96	$59,800	$55,732	38%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.92	$48,790	$53,498	30%
13	TexasState	0.89	$49,390	$51,663	34%
14	North CarolinaState	0.86	$47,050	$49,841	33%

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