Best Cities for Sewing Machine Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sewing machine 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	NevadaState	1.25	$45,750	$45,659	38%
2	MississippiState	1.21	$37,600	$44,340	29%
3	MaineState	1.19	$43,520	$43,607	36%
4	WisconsinState	1.19	$40,370	$43,738	32%
5	South DakotaState	1.17	$39,000	$42,952	29%
6	IndianaState	1.16	$38,440	$42,475	33%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$42,300	$42,513	42%
8	AlaskaState	1.15	$43,850	$42,042	37%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$38,130	$41,809	38%
10	ArkansasState	1.13	$35,630	$41,286	30%
11	ColoradoState	1.13	$43,840	$41,594	51%
12	South CarolinaState	1.13	$38,250	$41,576	39%
13	MichiganState	1.11	$37,490	$40,618	36%
14	IowaState	1.10	$35,870	$40,213	32%
15	MissouriState	1.10	$35,610	$40,192	35%
16	NebraskaState	1.10	$37,060	$40,503	34%
17	WashingtonState	1.10	$43,360	$40,410	53%
18	ArizonaState	1.09	$40,210	$39,851	45%
19	VermontState	1.09	$40,850	$39,854	42%
20	MassachusettsState	1.08	$42,910	$39,548	63%
21	MinnesotaState	1.08	$38,930	$39,724	39%
22	OhioState	1.08	$35,760	$39,558	35%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$36,640	$39,483	42%
24	KansasState	1.07	$35,360	$39,289	35%
25	New HampshireState	1.07	$41,740	$39,377	46%
26	WyomingState	1.07	$36,510	$39,258	32%
27	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.07	$47,220	$39,285	80%
28	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.06	$37,500	$38,981	50%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$41,980	$38,942	51%
30	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$44,350	$38,801	59%
31	IdahoState	1.05	$37,160	$38,508	39%
32	North DakotaState	1.05	$35,700	$38,553	33%
33	OregonState	1.05	$39,780	$38,621	48%
34	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$38,670	$38,478	47%
35	MontanaState	1.04	$36,740	$38,112	37%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$35,440	$38,314	40%
37	New MexicoState	1.03	$34,840	$37,870	36%
38	OklahomaState	1.03	$33,340	$37,672	35%
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$36,720	$37,934	53%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$42,970	$37,859	71%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$35,420	$37,882	44%
42	DelawareState	1.02	$37,690	$37,317	43%
43	GeorgiaState	1.02	$34,790	$37,248	49%
44	North CarolinaState	1.02	$35,160	$37,246	44%
45	TennesseeState	1.02	$34,220	$37,399	44%
46	IllinoisState	1.01	$36,220	$37,187	43%
47	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$35,640	$36,742	44%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$41,410	$36,711	58%
49	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$34,940	$36,472	52%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$35,260	$36,276	54%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$35,320	$35,858	58%
52	AlabamaState	0.97	$30,830	$35,396	37%
53	HawaiiState	0.97	$39,230	$35,664	73%
54	UtahState	0.97	$35,550	$35,479	50%
55	ConnecticutState	0.96	$37,780	$35,112	50%
56	West VirginiaState	0.95	$29,320	$34,822	34%
57	VirginiaState	0.94	$35,790	$34,580	53%
58	CaliforniaState	0.93	$37,940	$34,273	72%
59	New YorkState	0.93	$38,480	$34,204	58%
60	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$35,360	$34,164	54%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$35,860	$33,894	56%
62	KentuckyState	0.91	$29,460	$33,288	39%
63	New JerseyState	0.91	$36,130	$33,208	60%
64	LouisianaState	0.90	$29,600	$32,852	42%
65	MarylandState	0.90	$35,860	$32,839	56%
66	FloridaState	0.89	$33,270	$32,778	62%
67	TexasState	0.88	$31,000	$32,427	54%
68	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$29,760	$32,348	53%
69	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$37,130	$31,871	73%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$30,620	$28,221	80%

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