Best Cities for Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where photographic process workers and processing machine 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.30	$60,320	$52,773	44%
2	New YorkState	1.26	$57,760	$51,342	38%
3	WisconsinState	1.24	$46,480	$50,358	28%
4	IowaState	1.20	$43,310	$48,554	26%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.16	$56,550	$47,047	67%
6	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.15	$50,740	$46,765	48%
7	FloridaState	1.14	$46,840	$46,148	44%
8	VirginiaState	1.13	$47,380	$45,778	40%
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.11	$43,100	$44,990	42%
10	WashingtonState	1.06	$46,280	$43,131	49%
11	CaliforniaState	1.05	$47,320	$42,746	57%
12	KentuckyState	1.04	$37,430	$42,294	31%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$44,560	$42,117	45%
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$38,650	$42,379	38%
15	DelawareState	1.03	$42,220	$41,802	39%
16	MarylandState	1.03	$45,600	$41,758	44%
17	MichiganState	1.03	$38,610	$41,831	35%
18	IndianaState	1.02	$37,670	$41,624	34%
19	LouisianaState	1.00	$36,500	$40,511	34%
20	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$47,450	$40,730	57%
21	New JerseyState	0.98	$43,300	$39,798	50%
22	UtahState	0.97	$39,510	$39,431	45%
23	IllinoisState	0.96	$37,940	$38,953	41%
24	OregonState	0.95	$39,940	$38,777	48%
25	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$37,340	$38,495	42%
26	MissouriState	0.93	$33,540	$37,856	37%
27	North CarolinaState	0.93	$35,580	$37,691	44%
28	TexasState	0.93	$35,950	$37,605	46%
29	GeorgiaState	0.92	$34,790	$37,248	49%
30	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$41,280	$36,596	58%
31	ArizonaState	0.89	$36,650	$36,323	49%
32	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$34,790	$35,940	56%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.89	$37,340	$36,077	51%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$34,900	$35,905	54%
35	MassachusettsState	0.87	$38,400	$35,392	70%
36	ConnecticutState	0.86	$37,460	$34,814	50%
37	AlabamaState	0.84	$29,850	$34,271	39%
38	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.83	$38,400	$33,833	80%
39	OhioState	0.81	$29,770	$32,931	42%
40	Columbus, OHMetro	0.81	$30,600	$32,727	51%
41	South CarolinaState	0.80	$30,010	$32,620	50%
42	TennesseeState	0.78	$29,050	$31,749	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).