Best Cities for Structural Iron and Steel Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where structural iron and steel 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	MassachusettsState	1.77	$120,840	$111,373	22%
2	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.70	$120,840	$106,467	25%
3	IllinoisState	1.67	$101,850	$104,569	15%
4	New JerseyState	1.66	$113,220	$104,063	19%
5	WashingtonState	1.60	$107,660	$100,336	21%
6	WisconsinState	1.60	$92,820	$100,563	14%
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.59	$103,330	$99,836	19%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.57	$97,810	$98,302	18%
9	Rhode IslandState	1.56	$98,320	$97,831	18%
10	MinnesotaState	1.55	$95,320	$97,265	16%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.55	$111,440	$97,498	24%
12	OregonState	1.49	$96,050	$93,252	20%
13	HawaiiState	1.45	$99,860	$90,782	29%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.45	$98,120	$91,020	22%
15	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.45	$109,440	$91,048	34%
16	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.43	$82,860	$89,578	17%
17	North DakotaState	1.41	$82,120	$88,683	14%
18	MissouriState	1.39	$77,410	$87,370	16%
19	IowaState	1.38	$77,400	$86,771	15%
20	PennsylvaniaState	1.36	$82,970	$85,536	19%
21	West VirginiaState	1.36	$71,850	$85,333	14%
22	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.33	$77,570	$83,588	20%
23	OhioState	1.32	$74,710	$82,644	17%
24	New YorkState	1.31	$92,610	$82,320	24%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.31	$76,920	$82,267	20%
26	IndianaState	1.23	$70,130	$77,492	18%
27	LouisianaState	1.22	$68,830	$76,393	18%
28	IdahoState	1.20	$72,750	$75,389	20%
29	AlaskaState	1.18	$76,970	$73,797	21%
30	KentuckyState	1.15	$64,060	$72,384	18%
31	NebraskaState	1.14	$65,470	$71,552	19%
32	MontanaState	1.11	$67,390	$69,907	20%
33	CaliforniaState	1.10	$76,370	$68,988	36%
34	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.10	$62,870	$68,936	23%
35	MichiganState	1.08	$62,830	$68,072	21%
36	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$71,200	$67,297	28%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$78,040	$66,987	35%
38	MarylandState	1.05	$71,730	$65,687	28%
39	AlabamaState	1.04	$56,640	$65,029	20%
40	KansasState	1.04	$58,560	$65,067	21%
41	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$61,890	$64,335	30%
42	South DakotaState	1.00	$57,050	$62,830	20%
43	MaineState	0.99	$61,750	$61,874	25%
44	NevadaState	0.99	$62,510	$62,385	28%
45	TennesseeState	0.99	$56,750	$62,022	27%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$68,320	$60,567	35%
47	MississippiState	0.95	$50,690	$59,776	21%
48	ArizonaState	0.94	$59,390	$58,860	30%
49	DelawareState	0.94	$59,820	$59,228	27%
50	UtahState	0.93	$58,250	$58,134	31%
51	VirginiaState	0.93	$60,260	$58,222	31%
52	ConnecticutState	0.92	$62,400	$57,993	30%
53	New HampshireState	0.90	$59,920	$56,528	32%
54	ColoradoState	0.89	$58,830	$55,816	38%
55	South CarolinaState	0.88	$50,750	$55,163	30%
56	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$53,600	$55,144	35%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$60,270	$55,548	41%
58	FloridaState	0.87	$55,700	$54,877	37%
59	TexasState	0.87	$52,240	$54,644	32%
60	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$50,120	$54,478	31%
61	OklahomaState	0.86	$47,660	$53,853	24%
62	VermontState	0.86	$55,640	$54,283	31%
63	District of ColumbiaState	0.85	$61,240	$53,578	41%
64	ArkansasState	0.84	$45,510	$52,735	23%
65	GeorgiaState	0.82	$48,090	$51,488	35%
66	North CarolinaState	0.82	$48,740	$51,631	32%
67	WyomingState	0.81	$47,480	$51,054	25%
68	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.80	$48,290	$50,407	37%
69	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.79	$48,090	$49,680	40%
70	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.79	$48,720	$49,462	42%

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