Best Cities for Pile Driver Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pile driver 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	MassachusettsState	1.52	$120,980	$111,502	22%
2	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.47	$121,900	$107,401	25%
3	WashingtonState	1.41	$111,080	$103,523	21%
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.41	$111,070	$103,033	19%
5	CaliforniaState	1.36	$110,340	$99,675	25%
6	PennsylvaniaState	1.32	$93,550	$96,443	17%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.25	$106,660	$91,554	25%
8	AlaskaState	1.02	$78,080	$74,861	21%
9	TexasState	0.94	$66,140	$69,184	25%
10	LouisianaState	0.93	$61,150	$67,869	21%
11	TennesseeState	0.82	$54,830	$59,923	27%
12	VirginiaState	0.79	$59,910	$57,884	32%
13	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$59,740	$55,060	41%
14	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.71	$51,200	$51,980	40%
15	FloridaState	0.70	$51,830	$51,064	40%
16	GeorgiaState	0.70	$47,930	$51,317	35%

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