Best Cities for Sound Engineering Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sound engineering technicianss 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	New JerseyState	1.45	$115,190	$105,873	19%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.28	$106,630	$93,290	24%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.22	$86,610	$89,473	22%
4	NevadaState	1.15	$84,570	$84,401	21%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$83,810	$84,231	21%
6	KentuckyState	1.14	$74,100	$83,729	16%
7	GeorgiaState	1.13	$77,010	$82,452	22%
8	IndianaState	1.10	$73,130	$80,807	17%
9	New YorkState	1.06	$87,510	$77,787	25%
10	IllinoisState	1.03	$73,130	$75,082	22%
11	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$71,180	$73,992	26%
12	MarylandState	1.00	$79,990	$73,251	25%
13	CaliforniaState	0.97	$78,150	$70,596	35%
14	OhioState	0.97	$64,030	$70,830	20%
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$74,890	$70,784	27%
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$79,990	$70,913	30%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$76,050	$70,547	28%
18	FloridaState	0.95	$70,360	$69,320	29%
19	KansasState	0.95	$62,710	$69,678	20%
20	MissouriState	0.95	$61,750	$69,695	20%
21	NebraskaState	0.95	$63,810	$69,738	20%
22	ConnecticutState	0.93	$72,800	$67,658	26%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$77,420	$68,211	40%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$61,740	$67,109	25%
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$77,850	$66,824	35%
26	ArizonaState	0.90	$66,350	$65,758	27%
27	TennesseeState	0.90	$60,500	$66,120	25%
28	IowaState	0.88	$57,400	$64,350	20%
29	New HampshireState	0.85	$65,630	$61,915	29%
30	LouisianaState	0.84	$55,530	$61,632	23%
31	MontanaState	0.82	$57,600	$59,751	24%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.82	$54,900	$60,197	27%
33	MassachusettsState	0.80	$63,250	$58,295	43%
34	ColoradoState	0.79	$60,630	$57,524	37%
35	IdahoState	0.78	$54,970	$56,964	26%
36	TexasState	0.78	$54,370	$56,872	31%
37	MichiganState	0.77	$51,840	$56,165	26%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.77	$52,060	$56,281	27%
39	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.72	$54,200	$52,367	35%
40	North CarolinaState	0.71	$49,150	$52,066	32%
41	PennsylvaniaState	0.70	$49,490	$51,021	31%
42	WisconsinState	0.69	$46,780	$50,683	28%
43	New MexicoState	0.68	$45,690	$49,663	28%
44	South CarolinaState	0.67	$45,240	$49,174	33%
45	MaineState	0.66	$48,380	$48,477	32%
46	VirginiaState	0.66	$49,920	$48,232	38%
47	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.64	$44,790	$46,754	40%
48	UtahState	0.50	$36,400	$36,327	49%

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