Best Cities for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where refuse and recyclable material collectorss 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	1.55	$75,050	$77,053	21%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.46	$87,430	$72,737	43%
3	WashingtonState	1.40	$74,620	$69,543	31%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$75,090	$65,696	35%
5	IndianaState	1.31	$58,900	$65,083	21%
6	WisconsinState	1.30	$59,810	$64,800	22%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.30	$64,410	$64,734	28%
8	MinnesotaState	1.28	$62,570	$63,847	25%
9	North DakotaState	1.28	$59,000	$63,715	20%
10	OregonState	1.24	$63,210	$61,369	30%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.24	$57,510	$61,508	27%
12	NevadaState	1.23	$61,310	$61,188	28%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.23	$65,920	$61,150	33%
14	DelawareState	1.22	$61,290	$60,683	27%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.21	$57,650	$59,927	32%
16	UtahState	1.19	$59,310	$59,192	30%
17	CaliforniaState	1.18	$64,890	$58,618	42%
18	New YorkState	1.16	$64,950	$57,733	34%
19	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.16	$59,730	$57,710	32%
20	ColoradoState	1.15	$60,310	$57,220	37%
21	MissouriState	1.14	$50,010	$56,445	25%
22	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$51,070	$55,998	29%
23	IowaState	1.12	$49,850	$55,886	23%
24	Rhode IslandState	1.12	$55,970	$55,692	32%
25	MichiganState	1.11	$51,030	$55,287	26%
26	OhioState	1.10	$49,330	$54,569	25%
27	NebraskaState	1.09	$49,390	$53,978	25%
28	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$50,040	$54,391	31%
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$62,490	$53,639	43%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$49,730	$53,762	28%
31	AlabamaState	1.07	$46,240	$53,088	25%
32	WyomingState	1.06	$48,820	$52,495	24%
33	IdahoState	1.04	$49,880	$51,689	29%
34	New MexicoState	1.04	$47,660	$51,804	26%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$49,470	$51,639	36%
36	HawaiiState	1.03	$56,270	$51,155	51%
37	MontanaState	1.03	$49,420	$51,266	27%
38	KansasState	1.02	$45,510	$50,567	27%
39	VermontState	1.02	$51,960	$50,693	33%
40	GeorgiaState	1.01	$46,960	$50,278	36%
41	New JerseyState	1.01	$54,630	$50,211	39%
42	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$48,240	$49,732	32%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$47,840	$49,421	41%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$47,960	$49,342	40%
45	District of ColumbiaState	0.98	$55,490	$48,548	45%
46	KentuckyState	0.98	$43,100	$48,701	27%
47	OklahomaState	0.98	$43,060	$48,655	27%
48	TexasState	0.98	$46,330	$48,462	36%
49	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$47,620	$48,345	43%
50	FloridaState	0.95	$47,820	$47,113	43%
51	North CarolinaState	0.95	$44,670	$47,320	35%
52	TennesseeState	0.95	$43,270	$47,290	35%
53	ArizonaState	0.94	$46,910	$46,492	38%
54	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.94	$43,400	$46,767	36%
55	MassachusettsState	0.93	$50,310	$46,369	54%
56	MississippiState	0.93	$39,170	$46,191	27%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$49,770	$45,871	49%
58	VirginiaState	0.90	$46,530	$44,957	41%
59	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.89	$50,210	$44,238	61%
60	AlaskaState	0.88	$45,740	$43,854	36%
61	New HampshireState	0.88	$46,580	$43,943	41%
62	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.88	$46,040	$43,516	44%
63	LouisianaState	0.87	$38,810	$43,074	32%
64	MaineState	0.87	$43,360	$43,447	36%
65	West VirginiaState	0.86	$35,840	$42,565	28%
66	ArkansasState	0.83	$35,640	$41,298	30%
67	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.83	$46,530	$41,250	51%
68	MarylandState	0.77	$41,870	$38,342	48%
69	South CarolinaState	0.76	$34,880	$37,913	43%
70	South DakotaState	0.73	$32,950	$36,289	35%
71	ConnecticutState	0.71	$38,220	$35,520	49%

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