Best Cities for Production Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where production workers, all others 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	2.39	$109,470	$95,774	23%
2	IndianaState	1.33	$48,260	$53,326	26%
3	LouisianaState	1.25	$45,210	$50,178	28%
4	IowaState	1.24	$44,450	$49,832	26%
5	OklahomaState	1.24	$44,120	$49,853	26%
6	South DakotaState	1.23	$44,910	$49,460	26%
7	North DakotaState	1.21	$45,100	$48,704	26%
8	MinnesotaState	1.20	$47,020	$47,980	33%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.18	$47,120	$47,357	38%
10	NebraskaState	1.17	$42,980	$46,973	29%
11	West VirginiaState	1.17	$39,500	$46,912	25%
12	MaineState	1.16	$46,470	$46,563	33%
13	WisconsinState	1.16	$42,850	$46,425	30%
14	OregonState	1.14	$47,180	$45,806	41%
15	PennsylvaniaState	1.14	$44,290	$45,660	35%
16	MississippiState	1.13	$38,570	$45,483	28%
17	VermontState	1.13	$46,570	$45,434	37%
18	ColoradoState	1.12	$47,200	$44,782	47%
19	New HampshireState	1.12	$47,620	$44,925	40%
20	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.11	$42,620	$44,489	42%
21	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$47,780	$44,323	45%
22	KentuckyState	1.09	$38,630	$43,650	30%
23	MarylandState	1.09	$47,640	$43,626	42%
24	MontanaState	1.09	$41,990	$43,558	32%
25	TennesseeState	1.09	$40,130	$43,858	38%
26	WashingtonState	1.09	$47,060	$43,858	48%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$39,870	$43,717	37%
28	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$40,490	$43,773	35%
29	MissouriState	1.08	$38,470	$43,420	32%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$40,160	$43,276	38%
31	AlabamaState	1.07	$37,460	$43,008	31%
32	GeorgiaState	1.07	$39,900	$42,719	43%
33	IllinoisState	1.07	$41,730	$42,844	38%
34	OhioState	1.07	$38,720	$42,832	32%
35	South CarolinaState	1.07	$39,600	$43,043	38%
36	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$45,470	$42,977	44%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$48,790	$42,987	63%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$40,970	$42,324	47%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$39,130	$42,533	40%
40	ConnecticutState	1.05	$45,140	$41,952	42%
41	MassachusettsState	1.05	$45,780	$42,194	59%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$40,510	$42,110	46%
43	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$48,260	$42,222	55%
44	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$47,540	$42,145	50%
45	AlaskaState	1.04	$43,560	$41,764	38%
46	ArkansasState	1.04	$36,030	$41,750	29%
47	HawaiiState	1.03	$45,300	$41,182	63%
48	KansasState	1.03	$37,070	$41,189	34%
49	MichiganState	1.03	$37,950	$41,116	35%
50	UtahState	1.03	$41,460	$41,377	43%
51	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$38,770	$41,465	40%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$42,760	$41,314	45%
53	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.03	$49,450	$41,140	76%
54	ArizonaState	1.02	$41,350	$40,981	43%
55	North CarolinaState	1.02	$38,790	$41,091	40%
56	NevadaState	1.01	$40,700	$40,619	43%
57	TexasState	1.01	$38,850	$40,638	43%
58	WyomingState	1.01	$37,500	$40,323	32%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$39,540	$40,679	48%
60	New MexicoState	0.99	$36,460	$39,630	34%
61	DelawareState	0.98	$39,720	$39,327	41%
62	IdahoState	0.97	$37,480	$38,839	38%
63	CaliforniaState	0.94	$41,670	$37,642	65%
64	FloridaState	0.93	$37,690	$37,133	55%
65	New YorkState	0.93	$42,070	$37,396	53%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$36,790	$37,350	56%
67	New JerseyState	0.92	$40,000	$36,765	54%
68	VirginiaState	0.92	$38,340	$37,043	49%
69	Rhode IslandState	0.90	$36,130	$35,950	50%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$38,100	$35,115	64%
71	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$39,520	$33,923	69%

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