Best Cities for Tire Builderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where tire builderss 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	TennesseeState	1.41	$74,100	$80,984	20%
2	North CarolinaState	1.18	$63,950	$67,744	24%
3	MississippiState	1.09	$53,050	$62,559	20%
4	OhioState	1.09	$56,370	$62,356	22%
5	IllinoisState	1.07	$59,830	$61,427	26%
6	TexasState	1.00	$54,880	$57,406	30%
7	IndianaState	0.99	$51,170	$56,541	25%
8	IowaState	0.99	$50,600	$56,726	23%
9	KentuckyState	0.91	$46,010	$51,989	25%
10	OklahomaState	0.90	$45,830	$51,785	25%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$48,690	$50,825	37%
12	MichiganState	0.84	$44,420	$48,126	30%
13	GeorgiaState	0.82	$44,220	$47,345	38%
14	OregonState	0.82	$48,380	$46,971	40%
15	PennsylvaniaState	0.81	$45,270	$46,670	34%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.80	$44,570	$46,043	43%
17	ArizonaState	0.79	$45,770	$45,362	39%
18	ConnecticutState	0.79	$48,630	$45,195	39%
19	FloridaState	0.76	$44,150	$43,498	47%
20	MarylandState	0.74	$46,290	$42,390	44%
21	New YorkState	0.72	$46,550	$41,378	48%
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.72	$44,600	$41,373	48%
23	CaliforniaState	0.71	$44,790	$40,461	61%

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