Best Cities for Transportation Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where transportation workers, all others 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	OklahomaState	1.62	$65,580	$74,102	18%
2	UtahState	1.43	$65,270	$65,140	27%
3	Columbus, OHMetro	1.41	$60,320	$64,513	26%
4	New JerseyState	1.39	$69,220	$63,621	31%
5	OhioState	1.38	$57,010	$63,064	22%
6	ArkansasState	1.31	$51,720	$59,930	20%
7	TexasState	1.21	$52,640	$55,063	32%
8	WashingtonState	1.19	$58,300	$54,334	39%
9	HawaiiState	1.18	$59,500	$54,091	48%
10	MaineState	1.12	$50,800	$50,902	31%
11	MassachusettsState	1.11	$55,200	$50,876	49%
12	TennesseeState	1.11	$46,280	$50,579	33%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$46,010	$49,580	34%
14	VirginiaState	1.08	$51,110	$49,382	37%
15	LouisianaState	1.06	$43,440	$48,213	29%
16	MissouriState	1.06	$42,900	$48,420	29%
17	GeorgiaState	1.03	$44,070	$47,184	39%
18	WisconsinState	1.02	$43,180	$46,782	30%
19	MinnesotaState	1.01	$45,200	$46,122	34%
20	North CarolinaState	1.01	$43,660	$46,250	36%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$44,070	$45,527	44%
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$43,660	$45,574	41%
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.00	$45,200	$45,427	39%
24	District of ColumbiaState	0.99	$51,730	$45,258	49%
25	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$49,710	$44,069	48%
26	CaliforniaState	0.94	$47,590	$42,990	57%
27	MississippiState	0.94	$36,510	$43,054	29%
28	New YorkState	0.94	$48,450	$43,067	46%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$42,160	$42,802	49%
30	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$38,580	$42,303	38%
31	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$41,820	$41,612	43%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.90	$43,610	$41,219	46%
33	AlaskaState	0.89	$42,360	$40,614	39%
34	NebraskaState	0.89	$37,140	$40,590	34%
35	IndianaState	0.88	$36,410	$40,232	35%
36	MichiganState	0.88	$37,190	$40,293	36%
37	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$38,240	$39,751	49%
38	MarylandState	0.85	$42,190	$38,636	48%
39	New MexicoState	0.84	$35,440	$38,522	35%
40	NevadaState	0.82	$37,340	$37,265	47%
41	IllinoisState	0.81	$35,900	$36,858	44%
42	FloridaState	0.80	$37,110	$36,562	56%
43	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$38,000	$35,023	64%
44	DelawareState	0.72	$33,420	$33,089	49%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.70	$31,270	$32,171	61%
46	ConnecticutState	0.69	$34,010	$31,608	55%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.64	$28,250	$29,124	55%
48	New HampshireState	0.61	$29,590	$27,915	64%
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.60	$28,250	$27,295	68%

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