Best Cities for Traffic Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where traffic 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.37	$75,420	$80,663	21%
2	MinnesotaState	1.34	$77,810	$79,398	20%
3	IndianaState	1.33	$71,000	$78,453	18%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.33	$78,180	$78,573	23%
5	IowaState	1.29	$68,100	$76,345	17%
6	IllinoisState	1.23	$70,970	$72,864	22%
7	CaliforniaState	1.21	$79,110	$71,463	34%
8	OklahomaState	1.16	$60,750	$68,644	19%
9	OhioState	1.15	$61,460	$67,987	20%
10	NebraskaState	1.14	$61,380	$67,082	20%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.14	$65,610	$67,639	24%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.14	$78,640	$67,502	35%
13	WashingtonState	1.13	$71,960	$67,064	32%
14	MissouriState	1.08	$56,720	$64,018	22%
15	New YorkState	1.08	$71,670	$63,707	31%
16	WisconsinState	1.08	$58,940	$63,857	22%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$66,040	$63,807	29%
18	West VirginiaState	1.07	$53,400	$63,420	19%
19	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.07	$62,300	$63,249	33%
20	South CarolinaState	1.05	$57,080	$62,043	26%
21	UtahState	1.05	$61,970	$61,846	29%
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$70,100	$62,145	34%
23	North CarolinaState	1.02	$56,800	$60,169	27%
24	VirginiaState	1.02	$62,270	$60,164	30%
25	AlabamaState	1.01	$52,060	$59,770	22%
26	ArizonaState	1.01	$59,980	$59,445	30%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$67,450	$59,427	45%
28	IdahoState	1.00	$57,180	$59,254	25%
29	New JerseyState	1.00	$64,240	$59,044	34%
30	MassachusettsState	0.99	$63,780	$58,783	42%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$57,130	$58,776	33%
32	ArkansasState	0.97	$49,550	$57,416	21%
33	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$52,520	$56,595	29%
34	MarylandState	0.94	$60,650	$55,540	33%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$58,820	$55,595	34%
36	New MexicoState	0.91	$49,280	$53,565	26%
37	WyomingState	0.91	$50,120	$53,892	24%
38	NevadaState	0.90	$53,100	$52,994	33%
39	KansasState	0.89	$47,100	$52,333	26%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.88	$50,300	$51,963	39%
41	GeorgiaState	0.87	$48,110	$51,510	35%
42	TexasState	0.86	$48,770	$51,015	34%
43	FloridaState	0.85	$51,220	$50,463	40%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.84	$47,670	$49,553	39%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.84	$45,620	$49,587	34%
46	TennesseeState	0.83	$44,970	$49,148	34%
47	LouisianaState	0.80	$42,710	$47,403	29%
48	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$51,000	$47,005	48%
49	ConnecticutState	0.79	$50,400	$46,840	37%
50	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.70	$37,890	$41,546	39%
51	MichiganState	0.69	$37,890	$41,051	35%

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