Best Cities for Business Operations Specialists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where business operations specialists, 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	AlabamaState	1.39	$100,240	$115,086	11%
2	OklahomaState	1.27	$93,640	$105,808	12%
3	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.17	$90,060	$97,047	17%
4	District of ColumbiaState	1.14	$108,160	$94,628	23%
5	DelawareState	1.13	$95,040	$94,099	17%
6	South DakotaState	1.13	$85,340	$93,987	13%
7	WashingtonState	1.13	$100,360	$93,532	23%
8	KansasState	1.12	$83,350	$92,611	15%
9	MarylandState	1.12	$101,500	$92,949	20%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.12	$98,060	$92,684	21%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$84,970	$93,169	17%
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.12	$104,770	$92,881	23%
13	AlaskaState	1.09	$94,740	$90,834	17%
14	IowaState	1.09	$80,470	$90,213	14%
15	MississippiState	1.09	$76,980	$90,778	14%
16	MissouriState	1.09	$80,420	$90,767	15%
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$108,330	$90,125	35%
18	MichiganState	1.07	$81,810	$88,635	16%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.07	$82,130	$89,272	19%
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.07	$101,920	$89,169	26%
21	ColoradoState	1.06	$92,520	$87,780	24%
22	OhioState	1.06	$79,350	$87,777	16%
23	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$88,130	$87,692	20%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$82,030	$87,733	19%
25	IndianaState	1.05	$79,030	$87,326	16%
26	North DakotaState	1.05	$80,500	$86,933	15%
27	MassachusettsState	1.04	$93,270	$85,963	29%
28	New MexicoState	1.04	$79,100	$85,978	16%
29	South CarolinaState	1.04	$79,110	$85,989	19%
30	TennesseeState	1.04	$78,690	$86,000	19%
31	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$98,340	$86,643	31%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$83,600	$86,008	23%
33	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$79,970	$86,454	18%
34	NebraskaState	1.03	$77,980	$85,224	16%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$82,020	$85,616	22%
36	KentuckyState	1.02	$74,690	$84,395	15%
37	North CarolinaState	1.02	$80,230	$84,989	19%
38	TexasState	1.02	$80,820	$84,540	21%
39	GeorgiaState	1.01	$78,410	$83,951	22%
40	HawaiiState	1.01	$92,620	$84,200	31%
41	IllinoisState	1.01	$82,070	$84,261	19%
42	New JerseyState	1.01	$91,060	$83,695	24%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$86,900	$83,961	22%
44	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$80,590	$83,082	19%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$80,020	$82,665	24%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$81,610	$82,853	25%
47	ArizonaState	0.99	$83,280	$82,537	22%
48	VirginiaState	0.99	$85,200	$82,319	22%
49	West VirginiaState	0.99	$69,240	$82,233	15%
50	ConnecticutState	0.96	$85,530	$79,489	22%
51	MinnesotaState	0.96	$77,820	$79,408	20%
52	UtahState	0.96	$80,190	$80,030	22%
53	WyomingState	0.96	$74,060	$79,634	16%
54	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.96	$79,690	$80,090	22%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$76,400	$79,418	24%
56	CaliforniaState	0.95	$87,570	$79,106	31%
57	IdahoState	0.95	$76,400	$79,171	19%
58	MaineState	0.95	$78,830	$78,988	20%
59	New HampshireState	0.95	$83,740	$79,000	23%
60	FloridaState	0.94	$79,650	$78,473	26%
61	MontanaState	0.94	$74,990	$77,790	18%
62	OregonState	0.90	$77,170	$74,922	25%
63	New YorkState	0.89	$83,450	$74,178	27%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$79,770	$73,521	31%
65	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$79,660	$73,896	27%
66	WisconsinState	0.88	$67,370	$72,990	19%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$82,750	$71,030	33%
68	ArkansasState	0.85	$61,240	$70,962	17%
69	LouisianaState	0.84	$63,220	$70,166	20%
70	VermontState	0.84	$71,710	$69,961	24%
71	NevadaState	0.81	$67,330	$67,196	26%

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