Best Cities for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where water and wastewater treatment plant and system operatorss 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	1.50	$108,190	$90,008	35%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.44	$99,010	$86,623	27%
3	NevadaState	1.35	$81,440	$81,277	21%
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.30	$83,860	$77,792	26%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.29	$77,170	$77,558	23%
6	MinnesotaState	1.27	$74,670	$76,194	21%
7	WashingtonState	1.25	$80,800	$75,303	28%
8	CaliforniaState	1.23	$81,770	$73,866	33%
9	ConnecticutState	1.22	$78,820	$73,253	24%
10	New JerseyState	1.21	$78,760	$72,390	27%
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.18	$82,460	$70,781	33%
12	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$65,480	$70,789	22%
13	ColoradoState	1.17	$74,200	$70,398	30%
14	IllinoisState	1.16	$67,810	$69,620	23%
15	WisconsinState	1.15	$63,550	$68,852	20%
16	IowaState	1.14	$60,990	$68,374	19%
17	Columbus, OHMetro	1.14	$63,700	$68,128	24%
18	OregonState	1.13	$69,720	$67,689	27%
19	WyomingState	1.13	$63,260	$68,022	19%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$61,760	$67,719	24%
21	NebraskaState	1.11	$61,220	$66,907	20%
22	North DakotaState	1.09	$60,470	$65,302	19%
23	OhioState	1.09	$59,170	$65,454	21%
24	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$63,310	$65,268	25%
25	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$73,600	$65,248	33%
26	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$73,330	$64,608	42%
27	DelawareState	1.07	$64,940	$64,297	25%
28	MichiganState	1.07	$59,270	$64,215	23%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$66,680	$64,425	29%
30	MassachusettsState	1.05	$68,550	$63,180	39%
31	MaineState	1.03	$61,870	$61,994	25%
32	VermontState	1.03	$63,640	$62,088	27%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$59,740	$62,100	31%
34	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$61,820	$61,512	29%
35	UtahState	1.02	$61,290	$61,168	29%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$58,600	$61,169	31%
37	ArizonaState	1.01	$61,340	$60,793	29%
38	MontanaState	1.00	$58,040	$60,207	23%
39	AlabamaState	0.99	$51,870	$59,552	22%
40	HawaiiState	0.99	$65,560	$59,600	44%
41	IndianaState	0.99	$53,540	$59,160	24%
42	New HampshireState	0.99	$62,940	$59,377	30%
43	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$58,590	$59,482	35%
44	South DakotaState	0.98	$53,370	$58,778	22%
45	FloridaState	0.97	$59,030	$58,158	35%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$62,960	$58,028	39%
47	AlaskaState	0.96	$60,160	$57,680	27%
48	VirginiaState	0.96	$59,420	$57,411	32%
49	New YorkState	0.95	$63,990	$56,880	35%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$60,640	$57,316	33%
51	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$52,770	$56,864	29%
52	MarylandState	0.94	$61,870	$56,658	33%
53	MissouriState	0.94	$49,940	$56,366	25%
54	South CarolinaState	0.94	$52,090	$56,620	29%
55	West VirginiaState	0.94	$47,560	$56,485	21%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$51,630	$56,120	30%
57	TennesseeState	0.92	$50,670	$55,377	30%
58	MississippiState	0.91	$46,480	$54,811	23%
59	North CarolinaState	0.91	$51,680	$54,746	30%
60	IdahoState	0.90	$52,210	$54,104	28%
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$52,160	$53,884	37%
62	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.89	$51,780	$53,272	37%
63	GeorgiaState	0.87	$48,930	$52,388	35%
64	KansasState	0.87	$46,780	$51,978	27%
65	New MexicoState	0.87	$48,190	$52,380	26%
66	ArkansasState	0.86	$44,320	$51,356	24%
67	KentuckyState	0.86	$45,430	$51,333	25%
68	OklahomaState	0.86	$45,890	$51,853	25%
69	TexasState	0.86	$49,460	$51,736	34%
70	LouisianaState	0.85	$46,210	$51,287	27%

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