Best Cities for Riggerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where riggerss 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 YorkState	1.50	$105,600	$93,867	21%
2	UtahState	1.49	$93,640	$93,453	19%
3	OregonState	1.46	$94,470	$91,718	20%
4	MinnesotaState	1.42	$87,120	$88,898	18%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.40	$87,120	$87,558	20%
6	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.38	$91,430	$86,418	22%
7	IllinoisState	1.34	$81,860	$84,045	19%
8	MarylandState	1.34	$91,420	$83,718	22%
9	North DakotaState	1.34	$77,890	$84,114	15%
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.33	$96,880	$83,159	28%
11	NevadaState	1.30	$81,720	$81,557	21%
12	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.25	$75,670	$78,171	26%
13	CaliforniaState	1.24	$85,730	$77,444	32%
14	HawaiiState	1.23	$84,410	$76,736	34%
15	IdahoState	1.21	$72,850	$75,492	20%
16	New JerseyState	1.21	$82,130	$75,487	26%
17	MississippiState	1.19	$63,390	$74,752	17%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$79,810	$74,035	27%
19	GeorgiaState	1.15	$67,200	$71,949	25%
20	WashingtonState	1.15	$77,100	$71,855	30%
21	ColoradoState	1.12	$73,720	$69,943	30%
22	IowaState	1.12	$62,400	$69,955	18%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.12	$72,660	$70,203	26%
24	ArkansasState	1.10	$59,680	$69,154	18%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.10	$78,840	$68,976	33%
26	NebraskaState	1.07	$61,080	$66,754	21%
27	AlabamaState	1.06	$57,980	$66,567	20%
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$60,230	$66,042	24%
29	MaineState	1.04	$64,910	$65,040	24%
30	OhioState	1.03	$58,380	$64,580	21%
31	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$64,260	$63,940	28%
32	MichiganState	1.01	$58,490	$63,369	23%
33	ConnecticutState	1.00	$67,560	$62,788	28%
34	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$60,140	$62,000	26%
35	MissouriState	0.98	$54,190	$61,163	23%
36	VirginiaState	0.98	$63,620	$61,469	30%
37	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$58,760	$61,336	31%
38	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$69,030	$61,197	35%
39	North CarolinaState	0.96	$56,640	$60,000	28%
40	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$55,180	$59,654	26%
41	KentuckyState	0.91	$50,270	$56,802	23%
42	AlaskaState	0.89	$58,010	$55,618	28%
43	South CarolinaState	0.89	$51,020	$55,457	30%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$50,480	$54,870	31%
45	OklahomaState	0.87	$48,490	$54,791	24%
46	TexasState	0.87	$51,980	$54,372	32%
47	WisconsinState	0.86	$49,640	$53,781	26%
48	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$52,790	$53,594	39%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$50,840	$52,305	37%
50	ArizonaState	0.83	$52,370	$51,903	34%
51	FloridaState	0.82	$52,390	$51,616	39%
52	TennesseeState	0.82	$47,180	$51,563	32%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$55,550	$51,198	44%
54	IndianaState	0.81	$46,090	$50,928	27%
55	MassachusettsState	0.79	$53,500	$49,309	51%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.78	$47,180	$49,044	40%
57	LouisianaState	0.77	$43,660	$48,457	29%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.75	$53,110	$46,793	58%
59	KansasState	0.73	$41,060	$45,622	30%
60	New MexicoState	0.65	$37,440	$40,696	34%

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