Best Cities for Wellhead Pumperss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where wellhead pumperss 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	North DakotaState	1.23	$79,820	$86,199	15%
2	LouisianaState	1.22	$76,930	$85,383	16%
3	New MexicoState	1.21	$78,010	$84,793	16%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.15	$78,010	$80,257	24%
5	TexasState	1.13	$75,860	$79,351	22%
6	ArkansasState	1.07	$64,650	$74,913	16%
7	MississippiState	1.05	$62,560	$73,774	17%
8	ColoradoState	0.99	$72,700	$68,975	30%
9	KansasState	0.99	$62,400	$69,333	20%
10	OklahomaState	0.99	$61,380	$69,356	19%
11	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$60,510	$65,772	26%
12	West VirginiaState	0.89	$52,170	$61,960	19%
13	WyomingState	0.88	$57,200	$61,505	21%
14	MontanaState	0.86	$57,830	$59,990	23%
15	UtahState	0.86	$59,970	$59,850	30%
16	CaliforniaState	0.83	$64,430	$58,202	42%
17	IllinoisState	0.75	$51,440	$52,813	31%
18	MichiganState	0.74	$47,630	$51,603	28%
19	OhioState	0.74	$46,750	$51,715	27%
20	PennsylvaniaState	0.67	$45,490	$46,897	34%
21	New YorkState	0.62	$48,980	$43,538	45%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.60	$39,060	$42,227	36%

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