Best Cities for Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where stationary engineers and boiler 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	WyomingState	1.53	$111,920	$120,344	11%
2	IllinoisState	1.51	$115,780	$118,871	14%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.30	$123,170	$102,471	31%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$112,250	$98,206	23%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.22	$87,700	$96,162	17%
6	HawaiiState	1.20	$103,400	$94,000	28%
7	MichiganState	1.14	$82,800	$89,707	16%
8	ConnecticutState	1.12	$94,870	$88,169	20%
9	WashingtonState	1.09	$91,530	$85,303	25%
10	AlaskaState	1.08	$88,330	$84,688	19%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$79,680	$85,219	20%
12	New YorkState	1.06	$94,070	$83,618	24%
13	OhioState	1.06	$75,470	$83,485	17%
14	CaliforniaState	1.04	$90,650	$81,888	30%
15	MissouriState	1.04	$72,620	$81,964	17%
16	MontanaState	1.03	$77,690	$80,591	17%
17	New MexicoState	1.03	$74,480	$80,957	17%
18	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$91,480	$81,099	26%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$74,540	$80,323	21%
20	District of ColumbiaState	1.01	$90,470	$79,151	28%
21	TennesseeState	1.01	$72,470	$79,202	21%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.01	$73,090	$79,016	19%
23	NevadaState	1.00	$79,110	$78,952	22%
24	South CarolinaState	1.00	$72,650	$78,967	21%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$83,530	$78,951	24%
26	MarylandState	0.99	$85,240	$78,059	24%
27	ColoradoState	0.98	$81,310	$77,144	27%
28	DelawareState	0.98	$77,630	$76,861	21%
29	MinnesotaState	0.98	$75,850	$77,398	20%
30	OklahomaState	0.98	$68,450	$77,345	17%
31	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$76,560	$76,945	23%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$73,790	$76,705	25%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$79,720	$77,024	24%
34	UtahState	0.97	$76,490	$76,337	23%
35	GeorgiaState	0.96	$70,640	$75,632	24%
36	IowaState	0.96	$67,450	$75,617	17%
37	KentuckyState	0.96	$66,770	$75,446	17%
38	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$72,900	$75,155	21%
39	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$81,250	$75,371	26%
40	ArizonaState	0.95	$75,410	$74,737	24%
41	IndianaState	0.95	$67,560	$74,652	19%
42	MassachusettsState	0.95	$80,800	$74,470	33%
43	South DakotaState	0.95	$68,090	$74,989	17%
44	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$71,850	$74,225	27%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$83,950	$73,965	37%
46	North DakotaState	0.92	$66,760	$72,095	18%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$70,560	$72,593	27%
48	KansasState	0.91	$64,490	$71,656	19%
49	NebraskaState	0.90	$64,930	$70,962	19%
50	New JerseyState	0.90	$76,560	$70,368	28%
51	ArkansasState	0.85	$58,000	$67,207	18%
52	IdahoState	0.85	$64,460	$66,798	22%
53	TexasState	0.85	$63,810	$66,747	26%
54	VermontState	0.85	$68,400	$66,732	25%
55	OregonState	0.84	$67,630	$65,660	28%
56	WisconsinState	0.84	$61,170	$66,273	21%
57	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.83	$60,230	$65,467	26%
58	FloridaState	0.82	$65,040	$64,079	32%
59	North CarolinaState	0.82	$60,860	$64,470	26%
60	West VirginiaState	0.81	$53,340	$63,349	19%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.81	$74,420	$63,880	37%
62	MaineState	0.80	$62,910	$63,036	25%
63	MississippiState	0.80	$53,640	$63,255	20%
64	Rhode IslandState	0.80	$63,330	$63,015	29%
65	New HampshireState	0.79	$66,180	$62,434	29%
66	VirginiaState	0.79	$64,150	$61,981	29%
67	AlabamaState	0.78	$53,470	$61,389	21%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$65,880	$60,719	37%
69	LouisianaState	0.67	$47,750	$52,997	26%

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