Home / Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators / Best Cities Best Cities for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operatorss Cities ranked by purchasing power — where rail-track laying and maintenance equipment 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 New Mexico State 1.29 $83,370 $90,620 15% 2 Massachusetts State 1.24 $94,330 $86,940 29% 3 Indiana State 1.23 $78,020 $86,210 16% 4 Maryland State 1.20 $92,030 $84,277 22% 5 Kentucky State 1.18 $73,120 $82,621 16% 6 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro 1.18 $87,410 $82,618 23% 7 Idaho State 1.17 $79,020 $81,886 18% 8 Michigan State 1.17 $75,450 $81,744 18% 9 Montana State 1.17 $79,170 $82,127 17% 10 Virginia State 1.17 $84,750 $81,884 22% 11 Illinois State 1.16 $78,910 $81,016 20% 12 Delaware State 1.14 $80,610 $79,812 20% 13 New York State 1.11 $87,150 $77,467 25% 14 South Carolina State 1.11 $71,770 $78,011 21% 15 Wyoming State 1.10 $71,580 $76,968 17% 16 Arizona State 1.08 $76,620 $75,937 23% 17 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro 1.07 $85,240 $75,101 36% 18 Missouri State 1.04 $64,390 $72,675 19% 19 Tennessee State 1.04 $66,390 $72,557 23% 20 South Dakota State 1.01 $64,500 $71,035 18% 21 Arkansas State 1.00 $60,230 $69,791 17% 22 Oklahoma State 1.00 $61,860 $69,898 19% 23 Georgia State 0.96 $63,010 $67,463 27% 24 West Virginia State 0.96 $56,660 $67,292 18% 25 Kansas State 0.93 $58,590 $65,100 21% 26 California State 0.92 $71,170 $64,291 38% 27 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro 0.92 $75,280 $64,618 36% 28 Pittsburgh, PA Metro 0.92 $59,390 $64,205 24% 29 Utah State 0.90 $63,190 $63,064 28% 30 Pennsylvania State 0.88 $59,800 $61,649 26% 31 Colorado State 0.87 $64,300 $61,006 34% 32 New Jersey State 0.87 $66,540 $61,158 32% 33 Florida State 0.86 $61,220 $60,315 34% 34 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro 0.86 $62,030 $59,932 31% 35 Texas State 0.84 $56,470 $59,069 29% 36 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro 0.83 $56,470 $58,097 34% 37 Nevada State 0.81 $56,740 $56,627 31% 38 Washington State 0.78 $58,740 $54,744 39% 39 Ohio State 0.76 $47,980 $53,075 26% 40 Wisconsin State 0.74 $47,920 $51,918 27% 41 Iowa State 0.73 $45,640 $51,166 25% 42 Minnesota State 0.72 $49,640 $50,653 31% 43 North Carolina State 0.72 $47,700 $50,530 33% 44 Oregon State 0.71 $50,930 $49,447 38% 45 Louisiana State 0.70 $44,150 $49,001 28% 46 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro 0.65 $45,090 $45,317 39% 47 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro 0.63 $48,150 $44,378 51%
Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).