Best Cities for Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where shoe and leather workers and repairerss 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	TennesseeState	1.52	$52,520	$57,399	29%
2	WisconsinState	1.26	$44,000	$47,671	30%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.21	$45,640	$45,869	39%
4	ArizonaState	1.19	$45,510	$45,104	39%
5	IllinoisState	1.19	$43,730	$44,897	36%
6	WashingtonState	1.19	$48,310	$45,023	47%
7	MinnesotaState	1.16	$42,940	$43,816	36%
8	MissouriState	1.16	$38,700	$43,679	32%
9	MassachusettsState	1.14	$46,550	$42,903	58%
10	New JerseyState	1.14	$46,790	$43,006	46%
11	IdahoState	1.10	$40,000	$41,451	36%
12	AlabamaState	1.09	$35,970	$41,297	32%
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$46,550	$41,013	66%
14	IndianaState	1.08	$36,810	$40,674	34%
15	North CarolinaState	1.07	$38,020	$40,275	41%
16	OhioState	1.05	$35,950	$39,768	35%
17	MichiganState	1.03	$35,940	$38,938	37%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$37,900	$38,992	50%
19	New HampshireState	1.02	$40,800	$38,491	47%
20	UtahState	1.02	$38,700	$38,623	46%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$39,960	$38,609	48%
22	MaineState	1.01	$38,030	$38,106	41%
23	New YorkState	0.99	$42,100	$37,422	53%
24	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$34,870	$35,948	45%
25	VirginiaState	0.95	$37,230	$35,971	51%
26	FloridaState	0.93	$35,540	$35,015	58%
27	GeorgiaState	0.92	$32,470	$34,764	52%
28	OklahomaState	0.92	$30,720	$34,712	38%
29	CaliforniaState	0.91	$38,130	$34,444	71%
30	ColoradoState	0.91	$36,170	$34,317	61%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.88	$32,050	$33,110	60%
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$37,810	$32,455	72%
33	TexasState	0.85	$30,620	$32,029	54%
34	MississippiState	0.82	$26,340	$31,061	41%

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