Best Cities for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where paving, surfacing, and tamping 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	1.90	$111,360	$101,236	26%
2	WashingtonState	1.58	$90,530	$84,371	25%
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.58	$96,590	$84,506	27%
4	AlaskaState	1.50	$83,520	$80,077	20%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.50	$91,280	$79,860	28%
6	MissouriState	1.47	$69,400	$78,330	18%
7	IdahoState	1.42	$73,210	$75,865	20%
8	CaliforniaState	1.41	$83,130	$75,095	33%
9	IllinoisState	1.41	$73,060	$75,010	22%
10	WisconsinState	1.40	$69,020	$74,778	19%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.36	$72,080	$72,442	25%
12	ConnecticutState	1.35	$77,480	$72,007	24%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.34	$66,210	$71,347	23%
14	MinnesotaState	1.30	$68,180	$69,571	23%
15	IowaState	1.28	$61,110	$68,509	19%
16	OhioState	1.25	$60,280	$66,681	21%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.25	$62,490	$66,834	25%
18	South DakotaState	1.24	$60,140	$66,233	19%
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.23	$70,530	$65,427	31%
20	Rhode IslandState	1.18	$63,060	$62,746	29%
21	WyomingState	1.17	$58,080	$62,452	20%
22	OregonState	1.15	$63,310	$61,466	30%
23	West VirginiaState	1.14	$51,230	$60,843	20%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$68,520	$60,370	45%
25	MichiganState	1.10	$54,220	$58,743	25%
26	New HampshireState	1.10	$62,080	$58,566	31%
27	MontanaState	1.09	$55,920	$58,008	24%
28	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$56,010	$57,742	28%
29	MaineState	1.07	$57,020	$57,134	27%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.06	$59,800	$56,522	34%
31	ColoradoState	1.05	$58,810	$55,797	38%
32	MassachusettsState	1.05	$60,950	$56,175	44%
33	New YorkState	1.05	$62,760	$55,787	35%
34	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$51,310	$56,261	28%
35	IndianaState	1.04	$50,380	$55,669	25%
36	MarylandState	1.04	$60,530	$55,430	33%
37	KansasState	1.02	$49,070	$54,522	25%
38	LouisianaState	1.01	$48,450	$53,774	26%
39	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.01	$49,610	$53,632	28%
40	DelawareState	1.00	$54,020	$53,485	30%
41	VermontState	1.00	$54,830	$53,493	31%
42	OklahomaState	0.99	$46,760	$52,836	25%
43	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$58,800	$52,128	41%
44	ArizonaState	0.97	$52,140	$51,675	34%
45	KentuckyState	0.97	$45,660	$51,593	25%
46	ArkansasState	0.96	$44,010	$50,997	24%
47	NevadaState	0.96	$51,400	$51,297	34%
48	South CarolinaState	0.96	$46,950	$51,033	32%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$49,740	$51,173	38%
50	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$46,960	$51,043	33%
51	North CarolinaState	0.95	$47,820	$50,657	33%
52	NebraskaState	0.94	$45,760	$50,011	27%
53	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$48,190	$50,303	37%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$48,440	$50,353	39%
55	GeorgiaState	0.93	$46,100	$49,358	37%
56	New MexicoState	0.93	$45,880	$49,870	27%
57	TexasState	0.92	$47,060	$49,226	35%
58	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$50,860	$49,140	38%
59	UtahState	0.91	$48,860	$48,762	37%
60	AlabamaState	0.90	$41,880	$48,083	27%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$47,050	$47,766	44%
62	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$46,120	$47,645	42%
63	FloridaState	0.87	$46,840	$46,148	44%
64	New JerseyState	0.87	$50,500	$46,415	43%
65	TennesseeState	0.87	$42,510	$46,459	35%
66	VirginiaState	0.87	$48,060	$46,435	39%
67	MississippiState	0.82	$37,030	$43,667	29%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$46,810	$43,143	52%

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