Best Cities for Surveying and Mapping Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where surveying and mapping 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	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.47	$92,700	$79,571	29%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.41	$76,140	$76,523	23%
3	MinnesotaState	1.38	$73,190	$74,684	21%
4	AlaskaState	1.36	$76,970	$73,797	21%
5	CaliforniaState	1.30	$78,110	$70,560	35%
6	OhioState	1.23	$60,330	$66,737	21%
7	IowaState	1.22	$58,950	$66,087	19%
8	North DakotaState	1.21	$60,870	$65,734	19%
9	Columbus, OHMetro	1.19	$60,330	$64,524	26%
10	WisconsinState	1.18	$59,080	$64,009	22%
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.17	$76,560	$63,694	49%
12	IndianaState	1.15	$56,440	$62,365	22%
13	MontanaState	1.15	$60,330	$62,583	22%
14	WyomingState	1.15	$58,220	$62,602	20%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.14	$57,400	$62,054	25%
16	New MexicoState	1.13	$56,210	$61,098	22%
17	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.13	$58,480	$61,044	31%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$58,270	$60,072	27%
19	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$60,320	$60,020	30%
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.11	$63,510	$60,028	32%
21	UtahState	1.10	$59,600	$59,481	30%
22	IllinoisState	1.09	$57,470	$59,004	27%
23	MissouriState	1.08	$51,700	$58,352	24%
24	NevadaState	1.08	$58,790	$58,673	30%
25	WashingtonState	1.08	$62,720	$58,453	36%
26	West VirginiaState	1.06	$48,530	$57,637	21%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$59,480	$57,469	32%
28	DelawareState	1.04	$57,130	$56,564	28%
29	KansasState	1.04	$50,900	$56,556	24%
30	MaineState	1.04	$56,470	$56,583	28%
31	MarylandState	1.04	$61,600	$56,410	33%
32	North CarolinaState	1.04	$53,160	$56,314	29%
33	MississippiState	1.03	$47,320	$55,802	23%
34	New JerseyState	1.03	$60,720	$55,809	36%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$53,970	$56,102	35%
36	South DakotaState	1.02	$50,050	$55,121	23%
37	VermontState	1.02	$56,460	$55,083	30%
38	ColoradoState	1.01	$57,890	$54,924	38%
39	ConnecticutState	1.01	$58,900	$54,740	32%
40	IdahoState	1.01	$52,630	$54,539	27%
41	LouisianaState	1.01	$49,440	$54,872	25%
42	MichiganState	1.01	$50,340	$54,540	27%
43	TennesseeState	1.01	$50,370	$55,049	30%
44	VirginiaState	1.01	$56,760	$54,841	33%
45	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$49,950	$54,770	29%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$50,900	$54,849	30%
47	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$62,720	$54,873	42%
48	MassachusettsState	1.00	$58,730	$54,129	46%
49	New HampshireState	1.00	$57,290	$54,047	33%
50	OregonState	1.00	$55,790	$54,165	34%
51	ArizonaState	0.99	$54,080	$53,598	33%
52	ArkansasState	0.99	$46,370	$53,731	23%
53	AlabamaState	0.98	$46,450	$53,330	25%
54	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$57,410	$53,256	37%
55	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$59,960	$53,156	40%
56	NebraskaState	0.97	$48,080	$52,546	26%
57	OklahomaState	0.97	$46,760	$52,836	25%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$59,820	$52,705	51%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$48,430	$52,641	32%
60	GeorgiaState	0.96	$48,810	$52,259	35%
61	KentuckyState	0.96	$46,050	$52,034	25%
62	New YorkState	0.94	$57,360	$50,987	39%
63	HawaiiState	0.93	$55,580	$50,527	51%
64	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$48,810	$50,424	40%
65	TexasState	0.92	$47,680	$49,874	35%
66	South CarolinaState	0.88	$43,740	$47,543	34%
67	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$46,920	$47,635	44%
68	FloridaState	0.87	$48,040	$47,330	43%
69	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$45,460	$46,770	42%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$49,180	$45,327	50%

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