Best Cities for Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumperss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pump operators, except wellhead pumperss 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	1.53	$92,310	$94,774	17%
2	North DakotaState	1.42	$81,400	$87,905	14%
3	WyomingState	1.35	$77,820	$83,677	15%
4	AlabamaState	1.24	$66,890	$76,797	17%
5	AlaskaState	1.24	$80,210	$76,903	20%
6	MichiganState	1.22	$69,540	$75,341	19%
7	MontanaState	1.21	$71,770	$74,450	19%
8	MississippiState	1.18	$61,670	$72,724	17%
9	West VirginiaState	1.18	$61,450	$72,981	16%
10	OhioState	1.16	$64,700	$71,571	19%
11	LouisianaState	1.15	$64,110	$71,154	20%
12	GeorgiaState	1.11	$64,050	$68,576	27%
13	ConnecticutState	1.08	$71,890	$66,812	26%
14	IndianaState	1.08	$60,620	$66,983	21%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$64,050	$66,167	30%
16	WisconsinState	1.06	$60,320	$65,352	22%
17	TexasState	1.05	$61,770	$64,613	27%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$63,110	$64,928	30%
19	New MexicoState	1.04	$58,920	$64,043	21%
20	VirginiaState	1.04	$66,500	$64,251	28%
21	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$59,250	$64,402	26%
22	IdahoState	1.01	$60,200	$62,383	24%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$60,660	$62,536	26%
24	UtahState	1.00	$61,590	$61,467	29%
25	MinnesotaState	0.99	$59,700	$60,918	26%
26	New JerseyState	0.97	$64,990	$59,733	33%
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$63,480	$58,887	34%
28	FloridaState	0.94	$59,120	$58,246	35%
29	NevadaState	0.94	$57,980	$57,864	30%
30	TennesseeState	0.92	$52,120	$56,962	29%
31	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$54,040	$56,175	35%
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$63,060	$54,129	43%
33	OklahomaState	0.86	$46,900	$52,994	25%
34	OregonState	0.86	$54,540	$52,951	35%
35	WashingtonState	0.86	$57,030	$53,150	40%
36	KentuckyState	0.85	$46,600	$52,655	25%
37	CaliforniaState	0.84	$57,660	$52,087	47%
38	MaineState	0.83	$51,370	$51,473	30%
39	MissouriState	0.82	$44,650	$50,395	28%
40	NebraskaState	0.82	$46,170	$50,459	27%
41	North CarolinaState	0.79	$45,890	$48,612	34%
42	ColoradoState	0.72	$46,680	$44,288	47%
43	New YorkState	0.69	$48,010	$42,676	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).