Best Cities for Archivistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where archivistss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.26	$93,040	$81,400	27%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.26	$97,550	$81,156	39%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$76,990	$76,607	23%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.16	$84,590	$74,991	28%
5	ConnecticutState	1.15	$79,790	$74,154	24%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$66,830	$73,279	22%
7	MassachusettsState	1.12	$78,180	$72,055	35%
8	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.12	$76,440	$72,250	26%
9	WashingtonState	1.10	$76,490	$71,286	30%
10	MarylandState	1.08	$76,440	$70,000	26%
11	MichiganState	1.07	$63,890	$69,220	21%
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$78,220	$68,916	39%
13	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$78,530	$68,705	34%
14	ArkansasState	1.05	$58,560	$67,856	18%
15	MissouriState	1.05	$60,020	$67,743	21%
16	MinnesotaState	1.04	$65,740	$67,082	23%
17	AlabamaState	1.03	$57,860	$66,429	20%
18	IowaState	1.02	$59,010	$66,155	19%
19	LouisianaState	1.02	$59,070	$65,560	21%
20	New YorkState	1.02	$73,860	$65,653	30%
21	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$65,700	$66,030	27%
22	OhioState	1.01	$58,790	$65,033	21%
23	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$63,110	$65,196	31%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.01	$60,520	$65,427	23%
25	WisconsinState	1.00	$59,400	$64,355	22%
26	CaliforniaState	0.99	$70,530	$63,713	39%
27	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$59,730	$63,882	26%
28	GeorgiaState	0.98	$59,010	$63,180	29%
29	New JerseyState	0.97	$67,900	$62,408	32%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$60,690	$62,567	26%
31	IdahoState	0.94	$58,370	$60,487	25%
32	IllinoisState	0.94	$59,340	$60,924	27%
33	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$58,000	$60,543	31%
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.94	$70,630	$60,627	38%
35	IndianaState	0.93	$54,220	$59,912	23%
36	OregonState	0.93	$61,880	$60,078	31%
37	North CarolinaState	0.91	$55,370	$58,655	28%
38	OklahomaState	0.91	$51,940	$58,689	22%
39	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.91	$60,690	$58,638	32%
40	New HampshireState	0.90	$61,410	$57,934	31%
41	TennesseeState	0.90	$53,210	$58,153	28%
42	South CarolinaState	0.89	$52,810	$57,402	29%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$61,880	$57,403	35%
44	UtahState	0.88	$56,660	$56,547	32%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.88	$54,590	$56,746	34%
46	ColoradoState	0.87	$59,210	$56,176	37%
47	MaineState	0.87	$56,260	$56,373	28%
48	KansasState	0.85	$49,200	$54,667	25%
49	KentuckyState	0.85	$48,810	$55,153	24%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$52,940	$54,465	36%
51	DelawareState	0.83	$53,890	$53,356	30%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.82	$48,670	$52,902	32%
53	TexasState	0.81	$50,160	$52,469	33%
54	FloridaState	0.80	$52,100	$51,330	40%
55	ArizonaState	0.72	$47,010	$46,591	38%

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