Best Cities for Sheet Metal Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sheet metal workerss 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.55	$109,830	$96,089	24%
2	WashingtonState	1.49	$98,550	$91,845	23%
3	AlaskaState	1.47	$94,600	$90,700	17%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.47	$109,280	$90,915	35%
5	IllinoisState	1.44	$86,630	$88,943	18%
6	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.44	$82,830	$89,256	19%
7	HawaiiState	1.42	$96,350	$87,591	30%
8	West VirginiaState	1.39	$72,390	$85,974	14%
9	New JerseyState	1.38	$92,840	$85,331	23%
10	WisconsinState	1.36	$77,760	$84,247	17%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.35	$77,760	$83,166	20%
12	OhioState	1.34	$74,790	$82,732	17%
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.33	$75,120	$82,368	19%
14	MassachusettsState	1.22	$82,100	$75,668	33%
15	IowaState	1.21	$66,460	$74,507	17%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.21	$77,140	$74,531	25%
17	MinnesotaState	1.20	$72,970	$74,459	21%
18	OklahomaState	1.20	$65,640	$74,169	18%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$72,970	$73,337	24%
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$79,570	$73,813	27%
21	ConnecticutState	1.18	$78,750	$73,188	24%
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.18	$82,550	$72,731	37%
23	MissouriState	1.16	$63,560	$71,738	20%
24	OregonState	1.16	$73,750	$71,602	26%
25	IndianaState	1.15	$64,040	$70,762	20%
26	NebraskaState	1.14	$64,440	$70,426	19%
27	North DakotaState	1.14	$65,180	$70,389	18%
28	KansasState	1.13	$62,670	$69,633	20%
29	MichiganState	1.13	$64,490	$69,870	21%
30	CaliforniaState	1.12	$76,590	$69,187	35%
31	KentuckyState	1.11	$60,680	$68,565	19%
32	New YorkState	1.06	$73,760	$65,564	30%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$65,100	$64,776	28%
34	TennesseeState	1.05	$59,170	$64,667	25%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$62,200	$64,657	30%
36	MontanaState	1.03	$61,420	$63,714	22%
37	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$61,400	$63,299	25%
38	UtahState	1.02	$63,140	$63,014	28%
39	WyomingState	1.02	$58,740	$63,161	20%
40	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$58,050	$62,757	24%
41	MaineState	1.01	$62,120	$62,244	25%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$72,710	$62,412	37%
43	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$57,380	$62,370	27%
44	New MexicoState	1.00	$56,720	$61,652	22%
45	DelawareState	0.98	$61,460	$60,851	26%
46	GeorgiaState	0.98	$56,800	$60,814	30%
47	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$56,750	$58,626	34%
48	MississippiState	0.94	$49,500	$58,373	22%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$56,240	$57,860	34%
50	MarylandState	0.93	$62,560	$57,289	32%
51	TexasState	0.92	$54,240	$56,736	31%
52	VermontState	0.92	$58,250	$56,829	29%
53	New HampshireState	0.91	$59,800	$56,415	32%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$59,440	$56,181	34%
55	LouisianaState	0.90	$50,320	$55,849	25%
56	ColoradoState	0.89	$57,880	$54,915	38%
57	AlabamaState	0.88	$47,530	$54,569	24%
58	South CarolinaState	0.88	$49,920	$54,261	30%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$61,270	$54,317	39%
60	North CarolinaState	0.87	$50,730	$53,739	31%
61	ArkansasState	0.86	$45,820	$53,094	23%
62	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$50,890	$53,121	35%
63	South DakotaState	0.85	$47,800	$52,643	24%
64	VirginiaState	0.82	$52,220	$50,454	36%
65	ArizonaState	0.81	$50,260	$49,812	36%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$49,510	$50,264	42%
67	FloridaState	0.79	$49,640	$48,906	42%
68	IdahoState	0.78	$46,350	$48,031	31%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$51,700	$47,650	47%
70	NevadaState	0.75	$46,730	$46,637	37%

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