Best Cities for Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where postal service mail sorters, processors, 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	West VirginiaState	1.19	$58,470	$69,442	17%
2	MississippiState	1.17	$57,800	$68,160	19%
3	ArkansasState	1.16	$58,470	$67,752	18%
4	IowaState	1.16	$60,530	$67,859	19%
5	South DakotaState	1.16	$61,570	$67,808	19%
6	AlabamaState	1.13	$57,430	$65,936	20%
7	OklahomaState	1.13	$58,470	$66,068	20%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$59,490	$65,230	25%
9	KentuckyState	1.11	$57,430	$64,893	20%
10	LouisianaState	1.11	$58,470	$64,895	22%
11	MissouriState	1.11	$57,430	$64,819	22%
12	NebraskaState	1.11	$59,490	$65,016	21%
13	North DakotaState	1.11	$59,840	$64,622	20%
14	OhioState	1.11	$58,470	$64,679	21%
15	WyomingState	1.11	$60,530	$65,086	20%
16	MichiganState	1.10	$59,490	$64,453	23%
17	New MexicoState	1.09	$58,470	$63,554	22%
18	South CarolinaState	1.09	$58,390	$63,467	26%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$58,470	$63,554	27%
20	WisconsinState	1.08	$58,470	$63,348	22%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$58,470	$63,211	24%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$58,470	$62,535	27%
23	TennesseeState	1.05	$56,390	$61,628	27%
24	KansasState	1.04	$54,540	$60,600	23%
25	MinnesotaState	1.04	$59,740	$60,959	26%
26	IdahoState	1.02	$57,430	$59,513	25%
27	IllinoisState	1.02	$58,300	$59,856	27%
28	MaineState	1.02	$59,490	$59,609	26%
29	MontanaState	1.02	$57,430	$59,575	24%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$55,350	$59,644	28%
31	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$59,490	$59,789	30%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$57,430	$59,206	27%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$59,490	$59,194	30%
34	TexasState	1.01	$56,390	$58,985	29%
35	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$58,300	$59,188	35%
36	District of ColumbiaState	1.00	$66,750	$58,399	38%
37	NevadaState	1.00	$58,470	$58,353	30%
38	North CarolinaState	1.00	$55,350	$58,633	28%
39	DelawareState	0.99	$58,470	$57,891	28%
40	VermontState	0.99	$59,490	$58,039	29%
41	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$56,390	$58,014	34%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$55,660	$57,859	34%
43	GeorgiaState	0.98	$53,290	$57,056	32%
44	UtahState	0.98	$57,430	$57,315	31%
45	FloridaState	0.97	$57,430	$56,581	36%
46	OregonState	0.96	$57,890	$56,204	33%
47	VirginiaState	0.96	$58,300	$56,329	32%
48	ColoradoState	0.95	$58,470	$55,474	38%
49	New JerseyState	0.95	$60,530	$55,634	36%
50	WashingtonState	0.95	$59,490	$55,443	38%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$58,470	$55,265	34%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$57,430	$55,488	33%
53	ArizonaState	0.94	$55,350	$54,856	32%
54	New HampshireState	0.94	$58,300	$55,000	33%
55	ConnecticutState	0.93	$58,470	$54,340	32%
56	CaliforniaState	0.92	$59,490	$53,740	46%
57	HawaiiState	0.92	$59,490	$54,082	48%
58	IndianaState	0.92	$48,880	$54,011	26%
59	MarylandState	0.92	$58,470	$53,544	34%
60	MassachusettsState	0.92	$58,470	$53,889	46%
61	AlaskaState	0.91	$55,350	$53,068	30%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$57,430	$52,931	43%
63	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.91	$57,660	$53,488	37%
64	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$50,770	$52,448	38%
65	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$59,490	$52,414	52%
66	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$59,490	$52,739	40%
67	New YorkState	0.89	$58,470	$51,973	38%
68	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$59,740	$52,266	44%
69	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$59,490	$51,064	46%
70	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.86	$60,200	$50,083	63%
71	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.85	$47,440	$49,520	38%

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