Best Cities for Architects, Except Landscape and Navals

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where architects, except landscape and navals 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	WyomingState	1.31	$120,580	$129,656	10%
2	West VirginiaState	1.15	$96,470	$114,572	10%
3	OklahomaState	1.14	$100,350	$113,390	12%
4	South DakotaState	1.14	$102,500	$112,885	11%
5	MissouriState	1.12	$98,490	$111,163	13%
6	AlabamaState	1.11	$95,990	$110,207	12%
7	KentuckyState	1.11	$97,680	$110,373	12%
8	South CarolinaState	1.11	$101,550	$110,380	15%
9	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$115,960	$109,603	17%
10	IowaState	1.09	$96,810	$108,531	12%
11	MassachusettsState	1.09	$117,330	$108,138	23%
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$129,640	$107,854	29%
13	GeorgiaState	1.08	$100,420	$107,516	17%
14	WisconsinState	1.08	$98,510	$106,728	13%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.08	$103,330	$106,746	19%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$97,920	$107,368	15%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$99,920	$107,672	15%
18	IndianaState	1.07	$96,060	$106,144	13%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$99,140	$106,032	16%
20	MarylandState	1.06	$114,550	$104,899	18%
21	North DakotaState	1.06	$97,110	$104,870	12%
22	OhioState	1.06	$94,960	$105,044	13%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$119,120	$104,952	26%
24	AlaskaState	1.05	$108,730	$104,247	15%
25	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$105,160	$104,637	17%
26	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$100,050	$104,002	19%
27	TennesseeState	1.04	$94,030	$102,765	16%
28	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$98,620	$102,944	18%
29	MinnesotaState	1.03	$99,940	$101,980	15%
30	ArizonaState	1.02	$102,000	$101,090	18%
31	MontanaState	1.02	$97,290	$100,923	14%
32	NevadaState	1.02	$101,570	$101,367	17%
33	North CarolinaState	1.02	$95,700	$101,377	16%
34	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$100,960	$101,467	18%
35	NebraskaState	1.01	$91,530	$100,033	14%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$97,030	$100,031	16%
37	TexasState	1.00	$94,490	$98,839	18%
38	CaliforniaState	0.99	$108,540	$98,049	25%
39	ColoradoState	0.98	$102,400	$97,154	22%
40	IdahoState	0.98	$93,710	$97,109	15%
41	ConnecticutState	0.97	$103,540	$96,227	18%
42	DelawareState	0.97	$97,030	$96,069	17%
43	MichiganState	0.97	$88,430	$95,807	15%
44	OregonState	0.97	$98,800	$95,922	19%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$93,840	$96,543	20%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$94,610	$96,051	22%
47	FloridaState	0.96	$96,240	$94,818	21%
48	KansasState	0.96	$85,490	$94,989	15%
49	MississippiState	0.96	$80,870	$95,366	13%
50	New HampshireState	0.96	$101,100	$95,377	19%
51	UtahState	0.96	$95,590	$95,399	19%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$98,140	$94,821	20%
53	VirginiaState	0.95	$97,680	$94,377	19%
54	HawaiiState	0.94	$102,340	$93,036	28%
55	WashingtonState	0.94	$100,190	$93,374	23%
56	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$100,490	$93,219	21%
57	New JerseyState	0.92	$99,800	$91,728	22%
58	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$84,130	$91,446	19%
59	ArkansasState	0.91	$78,190	$90,603	13%
60	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$97,500	$89,862	25%
61	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.91	$83,460	$90,227	17%
62	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$102,080	$90,496	23%
63	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$102,040	$89,274	25%
64	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$104,170	$89,416	26%
65	LouisianaState	0.89	$79,580	$88,324	16%
66	New YorkState	0.89	$99,280	$88,249	22%
67	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$100,610	$88,023	26%
68	IllinoisState	0.85	$81,780	$83,963	19%
69	New MexicoState	0.85	$77,720	$84,478	16%
70	VermontState	0.81	$82,400	$80,390	21%
71	MaineState	0.79	$78,600	$78,758	20%

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