Best Cities for Prepress Technicians and Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where prepress technicians and workerss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.81	$100,980	$88,346	25%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.29	$70,670	$62,651	34%
3	ArkansasState	1.26	$52,800	$61,182	20%
4	MarylandState	1.14	$60,770	$55,650	33%
5	NevadaState	1.14	$55,680	$55,569	31%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.14	$66,670	$55,466	57%
7	VermontState	1.12	$55,880	$54,517	31%
8	GeorgiaState	1.11	$50,280	$53,833	34%
9	IndianaState	1.11	$49,050	$54,199	26%
10	MontanaState	1.11	$51,910	$53,849	26%
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.11	$56,930	$53,809	35%
12	IowaState	1.10	$47,770	$53,554	24%
13	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.10	$52,000	$53,719	37%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$55,680	$53,797	34%
15	OhioState	1.09	$47,810	$52,887	26%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.09	$50,860	$53,090	35%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$49,650	$53,102	31%
18	MassachusettsState	1.08	$57,250	$52,765	47%
19	North CarolinaState	1.08	$49,760	$52,712	31%
20	OregonState	1.08	$54,360	$52,777	35%
21	WisconsinState	1.08	$48,410	$52,449	27%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$48,700	$52,649	29%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$56,850	$52,737	38%
24	New JerseyState	1.07	$56,840	$52,243	38%
25	TennesseeState	1.07	$47,790	$52,230	32%
26	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$47,430	$52,007	31%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$48,240	$51,983	32%
28	KentuckyState	1.06	$45,830	$51,785	25%
29	MissouriState	1.06	$45,860	$51,761	27%
30	OklahomaState	1.06	$45,730	$51,672	25%
31	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$58,360	$51,419	53%
32	South DakotaState	1.05	$46,370	$51,068	25%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$49,070	$51,008	38%
34	IllinoisState	1.04	$49,450	$50,770	32%
35	MichiganState	1.04	$46,960	$50,878	29%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$49,100	$50,619	32%
37	KansasState	1.03	$45,290	$50,322	27%
38	MinnesotaState	1.03	$49,130	$50,133	31%
39	WashingtonState	1.03	$53,770	$50,112	42%
40	South CarolinaState	1.02	$45,900	$49,891	33%
41	ColoradoState	1.01	$51,730	$49,080	43%
42	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$49,130	$49,377	36%
43	CaliforniaState	1.00	$53,860	$48,654	50%
44	IdahoState	1.00	$47,220	$48,933	30%
45	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$55,370	$48,443	48%
46	MaineState	0.97	$47,350	$47,445	33%
47	VirginiaState	0.97	$49,100	$47,440	38%
48	New YorkState	0.96	$52,420	$46,596	42%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$44,980	$46,276	42%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$45,660	$46,355	45%
51	New HampshireState	0.94	$48,580	$45,830	39%
52	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$45,930	$45,701	39%
53	ConnecticutState	0.93	$48,780	$45,335	39%
54	FloridaState	0.92	$45,660	$44,985	45%
55	NebraskaState	0.92	$40,930	$44,732	31%
56	UtahState	0.91	$44,230	$44,142	40%
57	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$51,380	$44,103	53%
58	New MexicoState	0.89	$39,830	$43,293	32%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$39,940	$43,413	39%
60	LouisianaState	0.87	$38,060	$42,242	33%
61	West VirginiaState	0.86	$35,320	$41,948	28%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$44,140	$40,682	55%
63	AlabamaState	0.83	$35,020	$40,207	33%
64	TexasState	0.83	$38,410	$40,178	43%
65	ArizonaState	0.79	$38,830	$38,484	46%

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