Best Cities for Pipelayerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pipelayerss 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	WisconsinState	1.92	$86,870	$94,117	15%
2	MinnesotaState	1.71	$81,980	$83,653	19%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.68	$82,020	$82,432	22%
4	IndianaState	1.66	$73,580	$81,304	17%
5	OhioState	1.62	$71,560	$79,159	18%
6	WashingtonState	1.57	$82,450	$76,841	28%
7	Columbus, OHMetro	1.56	$71,560	$76,535	22%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.51	$84,830	$74,217	31%
9	New JerseyState	1.48	$78,830	$72,454	27%
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.41	$80,260	$68,893	34%
11	CaliforniaState	1.40	$76,180	$68,817	36%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.40	$73,920	$68,571	29%
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.38	$61,570	$67,511	24%
14	MassachusettsState	1.37	$72,770	$67,069	37%
15	KentuckyState	1.36	$58,820	$66,463	20%
16	MichiganState	1.36	$61,560	$66,696	22%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.30	$72,070	$63,498	43%
18	NevadaState	1.29	$63,570	$63,443	27%
19	New YorkState	1.28	$70,370	$62,551	32%
20	ArizonaState	1.27	$62,740	$62,180	29%
21	OregonState	1.27	$64,230	$62,359	30%
22	IdahoState	1.24	$58,650	$60,777	25%
23	IowaState	1.24	$53,990	$60,527	21%
24	DelawareState	1.18	$58,240	$57,663	28%
25	ColoradoState	1.16	$59,740	$56,679	37%
26	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.15	$58,560	$56,580	33%
27	South DakotaState	1.14	$50,650	$55,782	23%
28	KansasState	1.07	$47,390	$52,656	26%
29	UtahState	1.06	$52,000	$51,896	34%
30	North DakotaState	1.05	$47,810	$51,631	25%
31	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$54,690	$51,692	37%
32	AlabamaState	1.04	$44,550	$51,148	26%
33	IllinoisState	1.04	$49,590	$50,914	32%
34	MaineState	1.04	$50,980	$51,082	30%
35	MarylandState	1.04	$55,640	$50,952	36%
36	New HampshireState	1.04	$53,870	$50,821	35%
37	OklahomaState	1.04	$45,190	$51,062	26%
38	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$48,980	$51,127	37%
39	TennesseeState	1.03	$46,020	$50,295	33%
40	MontanaState	1.02	$48,080	$49,876	28%
41	North CarolinaState	1.02	$47,220	$50,021	33%
42	GeorgiaState	1.01	$46,220	$49,486	37%
43	MississippiState	1.01	$41,900	$49,410	26%
44	New MexicoState	1.01	$45,550	$49,511	28%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$47,700	$49,584	39%
46	LouisianaState	1.00	$44,340	$49,212	28%
47	South CarolinaState	1.00	$45,180	$49,109	33%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$47,560	$49,132	41%
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$55,320	$49,043	43%
50	District of ColumbiaState	0.99	$55,470	$48,530	45%
51	NebraskaState	0.99	$44,470	$48,601	28%
52	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$47,790	$48,518	43%
53	West VirginiaState	0.98	$40,440	$48,029	25%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$46,680	$48,025	41%
55	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$44,200	$48,043	35%
56	TexasState	0.97	$45,620	$47,720	36%
57	VirginiaState	0.96	$48,700	$47,053	39%
58	FloridaState	0.95	$47,260	$46,562	44%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$47,950	$44,194	51%
60	ArkansasState	0.89	$37,650	$43,627	28%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.88	$41,600	$42,887	37%

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