Best Cities for Woodworkers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where woodworkers, 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	1.46	$57,490	$64,960	20%
2	PennsylvaniaState	1.43	$61,880	$63,794	25%
3	AlabamaState	1.42	$54,970	$63,111	21%
4	VirginiaState	1.36	$62,730	$60,609	30%
5	MinnesotaState	1.32	$57,670	$58,847	27%
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.28	$64,260	$56,968	37%
7	LouisianaState	1.20	$48,020	$53,296	26%
8	New JerseyState	1.19	$57,490	$52,840	38%
9	New YorkState	1.16	$58,300	$51,822	38%
10	MichiganState	1.08	$44,450	$48,158	30%
11	GeorgiaState	1.05	$43,600	$46,681	39%
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$48,380	$46,744	40%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.03	$49,240	$45,677	44%
14	MississippiState	1.02	$38,550	$45,460	28%
15	HawaiiState	1.01	$49,630	$45,118	58%
16	MissouriState	0.99	$39,040	$44,063	32%
17	OregonState	0.99	$45,590	$44,262	42%
18	South CarolinaState	0.98	$40,090	$43,576	38%
19	CaliforniaState	0.97	$47,860	$43,234	57%
20	VermontState	0.97	$44,070	$42,995	39%
21	WisconsinState	0.95	$39,030	$42,286	33%
22	FloridaState	0.94	$42,560	$41,931	48%
23	North CarolinaState	0.94	$39,370	$41,706	40%
24	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$45,540	$41,972	54%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$43,310	$40,936	47%
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$46,360	$39,794	59%
27	ColoradoState	0.88	$41,300	$39,184	54%
28	MarylandState	0.86	$41,850	$38,324	48%
29	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$37,250	$38,481	52%
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$37,780	$38,355	55%
31	TennesseeState	0.85	$34,790	$38,022	43%
32	IllinoisState	0.83	$35,970	$36,930	44%
33	TexasState	0.83	$35,160	$36,778	47%
34	ArizonaState	0.82	$36,970	$36,640	49%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.81	$35,160	$36,173	54%

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