Best Cities for Surveyorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where surveyorss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$117,160	$97,471	32%
2	AlaskaState	1.27	$99,550	$95,446	16%
3	CaliforniaState	1.26	$105,330	$95,149	26%
4	OregonState	1.25	$97,070	$94,243	20%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.22	$91,750	$92,211	19%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.21	$98,610	$91,475	22%
7	IndianaState	1.18	$80,510	$88,961	16%
8	MassachusettsState	1.16	$94,590	$87,180	29%
9	MontanaState	1.16	$84,610	$87,770	16%
10	WyomingState	1.16	$81,250	$87,366	15%
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.16	$101,950	$87,511	27%
12	IowaState	1.15	$77,090	$86,424	15%
13	North DakotaState	1.14	$79,360	$85,702	15%
14	WisconsinState	1.14	$79,650	$86,295	16%
15	MinnesotaState	1.13	$83,620	$85,327	18%
16	South DakotaState	1.13	$77,190	$85,011	15%
17	KansasState	1.12	$75,860	$84,289	16%
18	MaineState	1.11	$83,200	$83,367	19%
19	TennesseeState	1.11	$76,340	$83,432	20%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$94,970	$83,674	32%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$77,320	$82,695	20%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$77,080	$83,330	18%
23	DelawareState	1.09	$82,890	$82,069	20%
24	NevadaState	1.09	$82,460	$82,295	21%
25	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.09	$78,870	$81,985	24%
26	KentuckyState	1.08	$71,840	$81,175	16%
27	New MexicoState	1.07	$74,230	$80,685	17%
28	North CarolinaState	1.07	$76,210	$80,731	20%
29	WashingtonState	1.06	$85,610	$79,786	27%
30	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$76,710	$80,073	23%
31	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$72,420	$79,408	20%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$73,780	$79,504	21%
33	MichiganState	1.04	$72,080	$78,093	19%
34	OhioState	1.04	$70,620	$78,119	18%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$75,950	$78,299	20%
36	IllinoisState	1.03	$75,980	$78,008	21%
37	AlabamaState	1.02	$66,840	$76,739	17%
38	ArizonaState	1.02	$77,490	$76,799	23%
39	IdahoState	1.02	$73,940	$76,622	19%
40	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$79,040	$76,367	24%
41	ColoradoState	1.00	$79,310	$75,247	28%
42	HawaiiState	0.99	$82,200	$74,727	35%
43	NebraskaState	0.99	$68,050	$74,372	18%
44	VermontState	0.99	$76,450	$74,585	22%
45	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$85,610	$74,899	31%
46	UtahState	0.97	$73,230	$73,084	24%
47	West VirginiaState	0.97	$61,520	$73,064	16%
48	ConnecticutState	0.95	$76,730	$71,310	25%
49	New JerseyState	0.94	$77,160	$70,919	28%
50	LouisianaState	0.93	$63,140	$70,078	20%
51	MissouriState	0.93	$62,110	$70,102	20%
52	New YorkState	0.93	$78,870	$70,107	28%
53	MississippiState	0.92	$58,720	$69,245	18%
54	OklahomaState	0.92	$61,300	$69,266	19%
55	South CarolinaState	0.91	$63,300	$68,804	24%
56	VirginiaState	0.91	$71,070	$68,667	27%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$74,390	$68,562	33%
58	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.90	$66,030	$67,932	29%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$66,390	$67,401	31%
60	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$74,920	$66,418	32%
61	FloridaState	0.86	$65,480	$64,512	32%
62	TexasState	0.85	$61,150	$63,964	27%
63	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.85	$59,140	$64,283	26%
64	Rhode IslandState	0.83	$62,670	$62,358	29%
65	GeorgiaState	0.82	$58,100	$62,206	29%
66	New HampshireState	0.81	$65,130	$61,443	29%
67	ArkansasState	0.80	$51,800	$60,023	20%
68	MarylandState	0.79	$64,910	$59,441	31%
69	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.78	$57,260	$59,153	34%

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