Best Cities for Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetations 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.29	$55,830	$59,711	28%
2	MassachusettsState	1.25	$62,980	$58,046	43%
3	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.20	$62,990	$55,498	49%
4	OhioState	1.19	$50,060	$55,376	25%
5	KansasState	1.18	$49,090	$54,544	25%
6	North DakotaState	1.18	$50,490	$54,525	23%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.17	$58,550	$54,314	37%
8	DelawareState	1.16	$54,190	$53,653	30%
9	IndianaState	1.16	$48,500	$53,591	26%
10	WyomingState	1.14	$49,190	$52,892	24%
11	IowaState	1.13	$46,740	$52,399	24%
12	NebraskaState	1.12	$47,500	$51,913	26%
13	TennesseeState	1.12	$47,340	$51,738	32%
14	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.12	$48,350	$52,101	32%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.11	$49,600	$51,559	38%
16	MissouriState	1.10	$44,990	$50,779	28%
17	North CarolinaState	1.10	$48,240	$51,102	32%
18	South DakotaState	1.10	$46,320	$51,013	25%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$48,870	$50,381	32%
20	AlabamaState	1.08	$43,440	$49,874	26%
21	MinnesotaState	1.08	$49,030	$50,031	31%
22	OregonState	1.08	$51,590	$50,087	37%
23	WisconsinState	1.08	$46,190	$50,043	28%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$45,550	$49,945	32%
25	IdahoState	1.07	$47,630	$49,358	30%
26	IllinoisState	1.07	$48,280	$49,569	33%
27	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$45,070	$48,724	31%
28	ArizonaState	1.04	$48,630	$48,196	37%
29	MichiganState	1.04	$44,460	$48,169	30%
30	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$48,360	$48,119	37%
31	NevadaState	1.03	$48,030	$47,934	36%
32	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.03	$47,560	$47,799	37%
33	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.03	$54,530	$47,708	48%
34	HawaiiState	1.01	$51,240	$46,582	56%
35	VirginiaState	1.01	$48,610	$46,966	39%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$44,820	$46,785	40%
37	UtahState	0.98	$45,430	$45,339	39%
38	ColoradoState	0.96	$47,020	$44,611	47%
39	FloridaState	0.96	$45,210	$44,542	46%
40	KentuckyState	0.96	$39,380	$44,497	29%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$46,280	$44,715	41%
42	ArkansasState	0.95	$37,860	$43,870	28%
43	WashingtonState	0.95	$47,360	$44,138	48%
44	New YorkState	0.93	$48,380	$43,004	46%
45	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$46,210	$42,590	53%
46	MississippiState	0.91	$35,770	$42,182	30%
47	New MexicoState	0.91	$38,740	$42,109	32%
48	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$41,390	$42,020	50%
49	GeorgiaState	0.90	$39,080	$41,842	43%
50	OklahomaState	0.90	$36,870	$41,661	32%
51	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$40,390	$41,725	48%
52	South CarolinaState	0.89	$38,100	$41,413	40%
53	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$48,140	$41,322	56%
54	CaliforniaState	0.88	$45,070	$40,714	60%
55	MarylandState	0.88	$44,440	$40,696	45%
56	New JerseyState	0.88	$44,330	$40,744	49%
57	MaineState	0.87	$40,200	$40,281	39%
58	MontanaState	0.85	$37,760	$39,170	36%
59	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.85	$47,430	$39,459	79%
60	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.85	$44,440	$39,397	54%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.79	$38,910	$36,777	52%
62	LouisianaState	0.63	$26,220	$29,101	48%

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