Best Cities for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitterss 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	IllinoisState	1.61	$99,950	$102,618	16%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.60	$101,630	$102,141	17%
3	MinnesotaState	1.51	$94,410	$96,337	16%
4	OregonState	1.48	$97,050	$94,223	20%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.48	$86,370	$94,704	17%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.47	$101,010	$93,701	21%
7	AlaskaState	1.41	$93,920	$90,048	17%
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.40	$107,560	$89,484	35%
9	District of ColumbiaState	1.39	$101,020	$88,381	25%
10	WisconsinState	1.38	$81,210	$87,985	16%
11	MassachusettsState	1.36	$93,880	$86,525	29%
12	MichiganState	1.36	$80,190	$86,880	17%
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.34	$96,760	$85,251	32%
14	IndianaState	1.32	$76,320	$84,331	17%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.31	$95,230	$83,316	28%
16	MontanaState	1.30	$79,960	$82,946	17%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.29	$76,150	$82,058	20%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$76,470	$76,090	24%
19	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.19	$70,100	$75,784	20%
20	MissouriState	1.18	$66,790	$75,384	19%
21	WashingtonState	1.18	$81,030	$75,517	28%
22	KansasState	1.14	$65,220	$72,467	19%
23	KentuckyState	1.14	$64,160	$72,497	18%
24	ConnecticutState	1.13	$77,280	$71,822	24%
25	New JerseyState	1.13	$78,240	$71,912	28%
26	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.13	$74,860	$72,329	26%
27	IowaState	1.12	$63,890	$71,626	18%
28	HawaiiState	1.11	$78,060	$70,964	37%
29	LouisianaState	1.11	$63,680	$70,677	20%
30	OhioState	1.10	$63,330	$70,055	20%
31	PennsylvaniaState	1.10	$68,080	$70,186	23%
32	New YorkState	1.08	$77,490	$68,880	29%
33	North DakotaState	1.08	$63,560	$68,639	18%
34	AlabamaState	1.06	$58,670	$67,359	20%
35	West VirginiaState	1.06	$56,980	$67,672	18%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$63,260	$67,658	25%
37	New MexicoState	1.05	$61,440	$66,783	20%
38	WyomingState	1.05	$62,410	$67,108	19%
39	NebraskaState	1.04	$60,970	$66,634	21%
40	CaliforniaState	1.03	$72,830	$65,790	37%
41	MississippiState	1.03	$55,480	$65,425	19%
42	OklahomaState	1.03	$57,970	$65,503	20%
43	MaineState	1.01	$64,000	$64,128	24%
44	DelawareState	1.00	$64,720	$64,079	25%
45	TennesseeState	1.00	$58,600	$64,044	26%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$71,860	$63,706	33%
47	New HampshireState	0.99	$66,810	$63,028	28%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$61,250	$63,014	31%
49	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$58,180	$63,239	27%
50	TexasState	0.98	$59,840	$62,594	28%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$60,100	$62,474	31%
52	UtahState	0.97	$61,900	$61,776	29%
53	ArizonaState	0.96	$62,070	$61,516	29%
54	GeorgiaState	0.96	$57,200	$61,242	30%
55	NevadaState	0.96	$61,610	$61,487	28%
56	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$58,690	$61,263	31%
57	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$71,110	$61,039	38%
58	North CarolinaState	0.95	$57,080	$60,466	27%
59	VermontState	0.95	$62,170	$60,654	28%
60	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$58,380	$60,310	33%
61	ColoradoState	0.94	$63,240	$60,000	35%
62	MarylandState	0.94	$65,400	$59,890	31%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$63,200	$59,735	32%
64	South CarolinaState	0.92	$53,940	$58,630	28%
65	VirginiaState	0.92	$60,470	$58,425	31%
66	South DakotaState	0.89	$51,620	$56,850	22%
67	ArkansasState	0.88	$48,660	$56,385	22%
68	IdahoState	0.85	$52,380	$54,280	27%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$57,760	$53,235	42%
70	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.83	$52,000	$52,792	40%
71	FloridaState	0.82	$52,910	$52,128	39%

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