Best Cities for Slaughterers and Meat Packerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where slaughterers and meat packerss 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	KansasState	1.34	$48,240	$53,600	26%
2	NebraskaState	1.33	$48,910	$53,454	26%
3	OklahomaState	1.29	$45,970	$51,944	25%
4	MissouriState	1.25	$44,490	$50,214	28%
5	South CarolinaState	1.25	$46,000	$50,000	33%
6	MichiganState	1.24	$45,850	$49,675	29%
7	IowaState	1.22	$43,820	$49,126	26%
8	South DakotaState	1.22	$44,410	$48,910	26%
9	ArizonaState	1.21	$49,020	$48,583	37%
10	IndianaState	1.21	$43,770	$48,365	29%
11	MontanaState	1.21	$46,700	$48,444	29%
12	ColoradoState	1.19	$50,480	$47,894	44%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$46,670	$46,905	38%
14	IllinoisState	1.15	$44,950	$46,150	35%
15	TexasState	1.13	$43,160	$45,146	39%
16	LouisianaState	1.11	$40,120	$44,528	31%
17	OregonState	1.11	$45,980	$44,641	42%
18	MinnesotaState	1.10	$43,360	$44,245	35%
19	UtahState	1.10	$44,040	$43,952	41%
20	ArkansasState	1.09	$37,800	$43,801	28%
21	KentuckyState	1.08	$38,330	$43,311	30%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.08	$42,070	$43,282	45%
23	North DakotaState	1.07	$39,730	$42,905	30%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$46,380	$43,024	46%
25	North CarolinaState	1.05	$39,930	$42,299	39%
26	WashingtonState	1.05	$45,100	$42,032	51%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$38,290	$41,985	38%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$39,020	$42,047	40%
29	AlabamaState	1.04	$36,360	$41,745	32%
30	IdahoState	1.04	$40,370	$41,834	36%
31	New JerseyState	1.04	$45,230	$41,572	48%
32	VermontState	1.03	$42,220	$41,190	41%
33	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$39,510	$40,816	49%
34	OhioState	1.01	$36,800	$40,708	34%
35	WisconsinState	1.01	$37,510	$40,639	35%
36	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$41,950	$40,531	46%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$37,170	$40,184	38%
38	MississippiState	0.99	$33,650	$39,682	32%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$36,580	$39,761	43%
40	GeorgiaState	0.98	$36,770	$39,368	46%
41	MaineState	0.97	$38,740	$38,818	40%
42	TennesseeState	0.97	$35,790	$39,115	42%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$37,270	$38,904	48%
44	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$37,330	$38,485	42%
45	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$44,040	$38,530	60%
46	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$37,570	$37,383	48%
47	New HampshireState	0.92	$39,270	$37,047	48%
48	VirginiaState	0.90	$37,430	$36,164	50%
49	CaliforniaState	0.89	$39,420	$35,610	69%
50	HawaiiState	0.88	$38,890	$35,355	74%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.88	$37,160	$35,123	54%
52	MassachusettsState	0.87	$37,780	$34,820	72%
53	MarylandState	0.86	$37,650	$34,478	54%
54	FloridaState	0.85	$34,430	$33,921	60%
55	ConnecticutState	0.84	$36,290	$33,727	52%
56	New MexicoState	0.83	$30,560	$33,217	41%
57	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.83	$37,800	$33,304	81%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$34,720	$32,000	70%
59	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.78	$36,270	$31,133	75%
60	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.78	$35,380	$31,365	68%
61	DelawareState	0.77	$31,200	$30,891	52%
62	NevadaState	0.76	$30,430	$30,369	57%
63	New YorkState	0.75	$33,880	$30,116	65%

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