Best Cities for Actuariess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where actuariess 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	AlabamaState	1.21	$136,950	$157,233	8%
2	ConnecticutState	1.19	$166,800	$155,019	11%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.12	$166,230	$145,433	15%
4	MissouriState	1.12	$129,220	$145,847	10%
5	IowaState	1.11	$128,690	$144,271	9%
6	WisconsinState	1.10	$131,640	$142,622	10%
7	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$131,680	$141,897	12%
8	KansasState	1.07	$125,010	$138,900	10%
9	New YorkState	1.07	$156,480	$139,093	14%
10	KentuckyState	1.05	$120,400	$136,045	10%
11	North CarolinaState	1.05	$128,730	$136,367	12%
12	ArizonaState	1.04	$135,870	$134,658	13%
13	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$128,730	$134,374	14%
14	NevadaState	1.02	$132,370	$132,106	13%
15	UtahState	1.02	$132,720	$132,455	13%
16	MinnesotaState	1.01	$128,100	$130,714	12%
17	New JerseyState	1.01	$142,800	$131,250	15%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$127,690	$131,368	15%
19	FloridaState	1.00	$132,110	$130,158	16%
20	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$125,040	$128,907	12%
21	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.99	$139,810	$128,857	18%
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$144,680	$128,262	17%
23	VirginiaState	0.98	$131,900	$127,440	14%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$117,600	$127,135	12%
25	OregonState	0.97	$130,380	$126,583	15%
26	WashingtonState	0.97	$134,720	$125,555	17%
27	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$125,960	$126,593	14%
28	MississippiState	0.96	$106,210	$125,248	10%
29	OklahomaState	0.95	$109,760	$124,023	11%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$119,090	$123,794	16%
31	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$127,770	$123,449	15%
32	OhioState	0.94	$110,980	$122,765	11%
33	MaineState	0.92	$119,620	$119,860	13%
34	TennesseeState	0.92	$108,930	$119,049	14%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$126,950	$119,991	16%
36	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$129,100	$119,759	17%
37	CaliforniaState	0.91	$130,510	$117,895	21%
38	IllinoisState	0.91	$115,430	$118,511	14%
39	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$134,720	$117,865	20%
40	MarylandState	0.89	$126,950	$116,255	16%
41	MassachusettsState	0.89	$126,040	$116,166	21%
42	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.89	$105,640	$115,833	14%
43	ColoradoState	0.88	$120,440	$114,269	18%
44	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.88	$129,590	$114,176	24%
45	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$106,540	$113,947	15%
46	IndianaState	0.86	$100,690	$111,260	13%
47	NebraskaState	0.86	$102,790	$112,339	12%
48	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$102,560	$111,478	15%
49	Rhode IslandState	0.85	$111,090	$110,537	16%
50	TexasState	0.85	$105,020	$109,854	16%
51	MichiganState	0.84	$100,640	$109,036	13%
52	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$127,970	$109,845	21%
53	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.84	$131,040	$109,018	29%
54	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.83	$106,490	$108,112	19%
55	LouisianaState	0.69	$80,860	$89,745	16%

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