{"h1":"Best cities for manufacturing and industrial pay after cost of living","faq":[{"a":"San Carlos leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $176k buys at average US prices.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for manufacturing and industrial pay after cost of living?"},{"a":"35 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 35 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"San Carlos leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $176k buys at average US prices.","minN":30,"rows":[{"n":66,"bar":1,"key":"CA|san carlos","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-carlos","name":"San Carlos","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$195k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"+11%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"66"}],"value":176151.7615176152,"change":null,"employers":["1X Technologies","Joby Aviation","Natera"],"valueLabel":"$176k"},{"n":35,"bar":0.9327093865282143,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$185k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay 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Automotive"],"valueLabel":"$136k"},{"n":28,"bar":0.7604002380598125,"key":"FL|cape canaveral","sub":"FL","href":"/places/florida/city/cape-canaveral","name":"Cape Canaveral","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$139k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"28"}],"value":133945.8413926499,"change":null,"employers":["SpaceX","Relativity Space","Sidus Space"],"valueLabel":"$134k"},{"n":59,"bar":0.7552447552447552,"key":"KY|louisville","sub":"KY","href":"/places/kentucky/city/louisville","name":"Louisville","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$120k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−10%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"59"}],"value":133037.6940133038,"change":null,"employers":["BrightSpring Health Services","Norton Healthcare","GE 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Systems","KLA","Psiquantum"],"valueLabel":"$132k"},{"n":31,"bar":0.736882704923942,"key":"CA|sacramento","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/sacramento","name":"Sacramento","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$139k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+7%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"31"}],"value":129803.1865042174,"change":null,"employers":["Sutter Health","California Correctional Health Care Services","Nalu Medical"],"valueLabel":"$130k"},{"n":63,"bar":0.7300945327399874,"key":"DC|washington","sub":"DC","href":"/places/district-of-columbia/city/washington","name":"Washington","rank":19,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$140k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+9%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"63"}],"value":128607.4380165289,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","CACI International","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"$129k"},{"n":51,"bar":0.7295754681787661,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$133k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"51"}],"value":128516.0038797284,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"$129k"},{"n":99,"bar":0.7246072589382448,"key":"CA|los angeles","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/los-angeles","name":"Los Angeles","rank":21,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$145k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+14%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"99"}],"value":127640.8450704225,"change":null,"employers":["K2 Space","Cedars-sinai Medical Center","Apex Space"],"valueLabel":"$128k"},{"n":33,"bar":0.7149394014345783,"key":"IN|indianapolis","sub":"IN","href":"/places/indiana/city/indianapolis","name":"Indianapolis","rank":22,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$118k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−7%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"33"}],"value":125937.8349410504,"change":null,"employers":["Eli Lilly and Company","State of Indiana","Masco"],"valueLabel":"$126k"},{"n":40,"bar":0.7136067333470819,"key":"CA|san diego","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-diego","name":"San Diego","rank":23,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$141k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+12%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"40"}],"value":125703.0831099196,"change":null,"employers":["Qualcomm Inc/De","Qualcomm Technologies","General 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Americas"],"valueLabel":"$123k"},{"n":27,"bar":0.6836085380587998,"key":"OH|columbus","sub":"OH","href":"/places/ohio/city/columbus","name":"Columbus","rank":28,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$115k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−5%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"27"}],"value":120418.8481675393,"change":null,"employers":["State of Ohio","Nationwide","Ohio State University-Newark Campus"],"valueLabel":"$120k"},{"n":51,"bar":0.6805502190117575,"key":"GA|atlanta","sub":"GA","href":"/places/georgia/city/atlanta","name":"Atlanta","rank":29,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+0%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"51"}],"value":119880.1198801199,"change":null,"employers":["Emory University","Oxford College of Emory University","Capgemini Invent"],"valueLabel":"$120k"},{"n":44,"bar":0.6720942254421479,"key":"MA|boston","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/boston","name":"Boston","rank":30,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$128k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+8%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"44"}],"value":118390.5817174515,"change":null,"employers":["Vertex Pharmaceuticals","State Street","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"$118k"},{"n":26,"bar":0.6646153846153847,"key":"NC|raleigh","sub":"NC","href":"/places/north-carolina/city/raleigh","name":"Raleigh","rank":31,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$110k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−6%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"26"}],"value":117073.1707317073,"change":null,"employers":["First Citizens Bank","Dewberry","MaintainX"],"valueLabel":"$117k"},{"n":45,"bar":0.6304711356696233,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":32,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$118k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+6%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"45"}],"value":111058.6011342155,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"$111k"},{"n":168,"bar":0.6302090449514961,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":33,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$125k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"168"}],"value":111012.43339254,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"$111k"},{"n":21,"bar":0.5809716599190283,"key":"PA|philadelphia","sub":"PA","href":"/places/pennsylvania/city/philadelphia","name":"Philadelphia","rank":34,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$105k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"21"}],"value":102339.1812865497,"change":null,"employers":["Confidential","GSK","Children's Hospital of Philadelphia"],"valueLabel":"$102k"},{"n":22,"bar":0.5755535265921023,"key":"VA|richmond","sub":"VA","href":"/places/virginia/city/richmond","name":"Richmond","rank":35,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$103k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"+1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"22"}],"value":101384.7675568744,"change":null,"employers":["Mckesson","Capital One","Genworth Financial"],"valueLabel":"$101k"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-manufacturing-and-industrial-pay-vs-cost-of-living","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Best cities for manufacturing and industrial pay after cost of living","family":"Industry markets","method":["The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.","Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked.","A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T03:57:58.028Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"icpay","sources":["NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states)"],"baseline":{"label":"the typical city in our data","valueLabel":"$138k"},"keyFacts":["#1 San Carlos, CA: $176k","#2 New York, NY: $164k","#3 Torrance, CA: $157k","35 cities ranked in the United States","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: San Carlos leads on $176k, and #10 McLean is at $138k.","McLean reaches #10 on a sample of 20 openings with pay posted, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Long Beach is the largest market in the top ten, with 249 openings with pay posted behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-manufacturing-and-industrial-pay-vs-cost-of-living"}