Best Cities for Animal Control Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where animal control workerss 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.51	$78,750	$68,898	33%
2	OregonState	1.41	$66,130	$64,204	29%
3	WashingtonState	1.36	$66,440	$61,920	34%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.35	$74,260	$61,780	51%
5	AlaskaState	1.33	$63,340	$60,729	26%
6	IowaState	1.33	$54,190	$60,751	21%
7	NevadaState	1.29	$58,810	$58,693	30%
8	WyomingState	1.27	$53,870	$57,925	22%
9	CaliforniaState	1.24	$62,630	$56,576	43%
10	MassachusettsState	1.23	$60,930	$56,157	44%
11	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.23	$52,000	$56,216	27%
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.22	$63,140	$55,630	49%
13	ColoradoState	1.21	$58,470	$55,474	38%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.20	$55,060	$54,786	33%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.20	$56,640	$54,725	34%
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.18	$62,810	$53,914	43%
17	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.18	$58,430	$53,853	42%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.17	$52,000	$53,608	30%
19	ConnecticutState	1.16	$57,130	$53,095	33%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.16	$48,340	$53,004	30%
21	MichiganState	1.15	$48,340	$52,373	28%
22	MontanaState	1.15	$50,530	$52,417	27%
23	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.12	$57,510	$50,984	42%
24	OhioState	1.10	$45,220	$50,022	28%
25	South DakotaState	1.10	$45,530	$50,143	25%
26	MaineState	1.09	$49,660	$49,760	31%
27	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$45,310	$49,250	35%
28	MarylandState	1.07	$53,330	$48,837	38%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$46,310	$48,340	39%
30	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$45,220	$48,364	34%
31	New JerseyState	1.05	$52,050	$47,840	41%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$44,310	$47,748	35%
33	IndianaState	1.04	$43,000	$47,514	29%
34	VirginiaState	1.04	$49,010	$47,353	39%
35	ArizonaState	1.03	$47,650	$47,225	38%
36	MissouriState	1.03	$41,760	$47,133	30%
37	TennesseeState	1.03	$42,970	$46,962	35%
38	UtahState	1.03	$47,210	$47,116	38%
39	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$49,890	$47,155	40%
40	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$45,690	$47,006	42%
41	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$45,460	$47,256	41%
42	North CarolinaState	1.02	$43,940	$46,547	36%
43	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$45,860	$46,558	45%
44	New HampshireState	1.01	$48,840	$46,075	39%
45	IdahoState	1.00	$43,930	$45,523	33%
46	FloridaState	0.99	$45,860	$45,182	45%
47	TexasState	0.99	$43,250	$45,241	38%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$42,840	$44,256	45%
49	IllinoisState	0.96	$42,480	$43,614	37%
50	KansasState	0.96	$39,520	$43,911	31%
51	AlabamaState	0.94	$37,340	$42,870	31%
52	New YorkState	0.94	$48,420	$43,040	46%
53	GeorgiaState	0.93	$39,500	$42,291	43%
54	OklahomaState	0.93	$37,450	$42,316	31%
55	LouisianaState	0.92	$38,020	$42,198	33%
56	South CarolinaState	0.92	$38,790	$42,163	39%
57	West VirginiaState	0.91	$35,120	$41,710	29%
58	MississippiState	0.90	$34,890	$41,144	31%
59	New MexicoState	0.90	$37,800	$41,087	33%
60	WisconsinState	0.89	$37,380	$40,498	35%
61	KentuckyState	0.88	$35,360	$39,955	33%
62	ArkansasState	0.87	$34,410	$39,873	31%

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