Best Cities for Artists and Related Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where artists and related workers, all others 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	GeorgiaState	1.80	$119,680	$128,137	14%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.78	$122,570	$126,622	16%
3	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.76	$132,620	$125,350	15%
4	West VirginiaState	1.69	$101,400	$120,428	10%
5	MarylandState	1.65	$128,610	$117,775	16%
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.56	$125,050	$110,860	19%
7	VirginiaState	1.51	$111,530	$107,758	17%
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.42	$110,120	$101,493	22%
9	ConnecticutState	1.35	$103,740	$96,413	18%
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.31	$96,530	$93,266	20%
11	OhioState	1.28	$82,280	$91,018	15%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.27	$84,860	$90,759	18%
13	PennsylvaniaState	1.25	$86,260	$88,928	18%
14	MassachusettsState	1.23	$94,890	$87,456	29%
15	North CarolinaState	1.22	$81,850	$86,706	19%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.19	$96,550	$84,471	27%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.14	$92,100	$81,145	33%
18	New JerseyState	1.10	$85,500	$78,585	25%
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.05	$80,640	$74,805	27%
20	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$68,690	$74,663	23%
21	IndianaState	1.02	$65,530	$72,409	19%
22	MissouriState	1.00	$63,130	$71,253	20%
23	North DakotaState	0.98	$64,470	$69,622	18%
24	MichiganState	0.97	$63,830	$69,155	21%
25	OregonState	0.97	$71,490	$69,408	27%
26	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$67,240	$69,177	28%
27	TexasState	0.94	$64,060	$67,008	26%
28	ColoradoState	0.93	$69,860	$66,281	32%
29	AlaskaState	0.85	$63,080	$60,479	26%
30	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.79	$51,340	$56,294	28%
31	New HampshireState	0.78	$58,640	$55,321	32%
32	CaliforniaState	0.77	$60,540	$54,688	45%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.71	$48,380	$50,291	39%
34	TennesseeState	0.66	$43,030	$47,027	35%
35	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.65	$45,870	$46,569	45%
36	FloridaState	0.63	$45,870	$45,192	45%
37	IowaState	0.62	$39,550	$44,339	29%
38	UtahState	0.61	$43,190	$43,104	41%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.59	$48,760	$41,854	56%

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