Best Cities for Art Directorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where art directorss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$170,140	$141,547	22%
2	MassachusettsState	1.20	$149,320	$137,622	18%
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.17	$145,410	$134,889	15%
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.16	$151,820	$133,762	20%
5	OregonState	1.13	$133,840	$129,942	14%
6	VermontState	1.10	$129,260	$126,107	13%
7	CaliforniaState	1.08	$137,780	$124,463	20%
8	New HampshireState	1.08	$132,000	$124,528	14%
9	New YorkState	1.06	$137,320	$122,062	16%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$119,020	$119,618	15%
11	GeorgiaState	1.03	$110,430	$118,233	15%
12	New JerseyState	1.03	$129,200	$118,750	17%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$137,560	$118,077	20%
14	IndianaState	1.02	$105,690	$116,785	12%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$111,480	$115,165	17%
16	MissouriState	0.99	$100,940	$113,928	12%
17	WashingtonState	0.98	$121,170	$112,926	19%
18	MinnesotaState	0.97	$109,700	$111,939	14%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	0.95	$101,990	$109,080	15%
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.95	$124,610	$109,020	21%
21	IllinoisState	0.93	$103,550	$106,314	15%
22	UtahState	0.93	$106,500	$106,287	17%
23	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$101,470	$105,478	18%
24	OhioState	0.91	$94,390	$104,414	13%
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.91	$95,390	$104,594	15%
26	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.91	$96,420	$104,238	15%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.89	$105,260	$101,700	18%
28	MaineState	0.88	$100,300	$100,501	15%
29	PennsylvaniaState	0.87	$97,450	$100,464	16%
30	TennesseeState	0.86	$89,860	$98,208	17%
31	FloridaState	0.85	$99,660	$98,187	21%
32	NevadaState	0.85	$98,070	$97,874	18%
33	VirginiaState	0.85	$101,150	$97,729	19%
34	ColoradoState	0.83	$99,990	$94,867	22%
35	North CarolinaState	0.83	$90,000	$95,339	17%
36	South CarolinaState	0.83	$87,990	$95,641	17%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.83	$88,610	$95,485	17%
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$103,150	$95,069	24%
39	MichiganState	0.82	$86,660	$93,889	15%
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.82	$90,000	$93,946	20%
41	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.82	$105,990	$93,963	23%
42	LouisianaState	0.81	$83,640	$92,830	15%
43	TexasState	0.80	$88,270	$92,333	19%
44	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.80	$97,460	$92,117	21%
45	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.80	$90,360	$91,736	23%
46	IowaState	0.79	$80,940	$90,740	14%
47	OklahomaState	0.79	$80,680	$91,164	14%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.79	$87,810	$90,340	22%
49	MarylandState	0.78	$98,400	$90,110	20%
50	North DakotaState	0.78	$83,170	$89,816	14%
51	AlabamaState	0.77	$77,220	$88,657	15%
52	WisconsinState	0.77	$81,130	$87,898	16%
53	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.77	$81,730	$88,837	19%
54	KentuckyState	0.75	$76,160	$86,056	15%
55	ArkansasState	0.73	$71,930	$83,349	15%
56	IdahoState	0.73	$80,680	$83,606	18%
57	HawaiiState	0.71	$89,300	$81,182	32%
58	NebraskaState	0.70	$73,270	$80,077	17%
59	MississippiState	0.68	$66,020	$77,854	16%
60	MontanaState	0.67	$73,850	$76,608	18%
61	West VirginiaState	0.66	$63,550	$75,475	16%
62	South DakotaState	0.64	$66,610	$73,359	17%
63	AlaskaState	0.63	$75,200	$72,100	22%
64	Rhode IslandState	0.63	$72,550	$72,189	25%
65	ConnecticutState	0.58	$71,900	$66,822	26%
66	KansasState	0.58	$60,460	$67,178	21%

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