Best Cities for Sewers, Hands

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sewers, hands 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	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.31	$46,140	$47,665	42%
2	IowaState	1.30	$42,290	$47,410	27%
3	ColoradoState	1.24	$47,600	$45,161	47%
4	South CarolinaState	1.18	$39,690	$43,141	38%
5	WashingtonState	1.15	$45,170	$42,097	50%
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.14	$48,540	$41,665	56%
7	GeorgiaState	1.12	$38,210	$40,910	44%
8	NevadaState	1.08	$39,440	$39,361	44%
9	North CarolinaState	1.06	$36,550	$38,718	43%
10	CaliforniaState	1.05	$42,420	$38,320	64%
11	FloridaState	1.04	$38,480	$37,911	54%
12	IndianaState	1.04	$34,410	$38,022	37%
13	IllinoisState	1.03	$36,480	$37,454	43%
14	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$35,560	$36,660	44%
15	MassachusettsState	0.98	$38,680	$35,650	70%
16	New JerseyState	0.92	$36,400	$33,456	59%
17	New YorkState	0.91	$37,380	$33,227	59%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.90	$33,830	$32,686	57%
19	TexasState	0.84	$29,320	$30,669	57%
20	LouisianaState	0.82	$27,040	$30,011	47%

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