Best Cities for Buyers and Purchasing Agentss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where buyers and purchasing agentss 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	1.40	$124,090	$108,565	20%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.20	$104,880	$92,979	23%
3	West VirginiaState	1.16	$75,670	$89,869	13%
4	ArkansasState	1.13	$75,870	$87,914	14%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$80,300	$88,048	18%
6	VirginiaState	1.11	$89,210	$86,193	21%
7	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.11	$79,550	$86,467	20%
8	New JerseyState	1.10	$93,250	$85,708	23%
9	Rhode IslandState	1.10	$86,240	$85,811	21%
10	AlabamaState	1.09	$74,030	$84,994	16%
11	MississippiState	1.09	$71,850	$84,729	15%
12	OhioState	1.09	$76,410	$84,524	16%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$101,500	$84,443	37%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$95,970	$83,963	27%
15	MarylandState	1.07	$90,900	$83,242	22%
16	New MexicoState	1.07	$76,740	$83,413	16%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$82,710	$83,126	21%
18	DelawareState	1.06	$82,920	$82,099	20%
19	MichiganState	1.06	$75,900	$82,232	18%
20	MinnesotaState	1.06	$80,370	$82,010	19%
21	North DakotaState	1.06	$76,400	$82,505	15%
22	South CarolinaState	1.06	$75,550	$82,120	20%
23	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$77,150	$82,513	20%
24	NebraskaState	1.05	$74,950	$81,913	17%
25	South DakotaState	1.05	$73,990	$81,487	16%
26	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$93,010	$81,947	33%
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$77,890	$81,305	23%
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$79,420	$81,708	24%
29	IllinoisState	1.04	$78,470	$80,565	20%
30	OklahomaState	1.04	$71,850	$81,186	16%
31	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$74,740	$80,539	21%
32	AlaskaState	1.03	$83,460	$80,019	20%
33	GeorgiaState	1.03	$74,530	$79,797	23%
34	North CarolinaState	1.03	$75,880	$80,381	21%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$84,590	$79,953	24%
36	ColoradoState	1.02	$83,590	$79,307	27%
37	IowaState	1.02	$70,360	$78,879	16%
38	MassachusettsState	1.02	$85,970	$79,235	31%
39	TexasState	1.02	$76,050	$79,550	22%
40	WashingtonState	1.02	$85,130	$79,338	27%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$81,470	$78,715	24%
42	MaineState	1.00	$77,630	$77,786	20%
43	WyomingState	1.00	$72,200	$77,634	16%
44	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$75,140	$77,624	26%
45	ConnecticutState	0.99	$83,030	$77,165	23%
46	IndianaState	0.99	$69,350	$76,630	18%
47	KansasState	0.99	$69,500	$77,222	18%
48	WisconsinState	0.99	$70,880	$76,793	18%
49	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$73,550	$75,825	21%
50	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$69,990	$75,665	20%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$74,220	$75,350	28%
52	ArizonaState	0.96	$75,340	$74,668	24%
53	CaliforniaState	0.96	$82,720	$74,724	33%
54	UtahState	0.96	$74,540	$74,391	24%
55	KentuckyState	0.95	$65,240	$73,718	18%
56	LouisianaState	0.95	$66,340	$73,629	19%
57	MissouriState	0.95	$65,650	$74,097	19%
58	NevadaState	0.94	$72,990	$72,844	24%
59	New HampshireState	0.94	$77,270	$72,896	25%
60	OregonState	0.94	$75,050	$72,864	25%
61	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$78,380	$72,709	27%
62	FloridaState	0.92	$72,850	$71,773	28%
63	IdahoState	0.92	$69,240	$71,751	21%
64	TennesseeState	0.92	$65,430	$71,508	23%
65	New YorkState	0.91	$79,460	$70,631	28%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$82,500	$70,815	33%
67	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$68,130	$70,821	27%
68	HawaiiState	0.87	$74,240	$67,491	39%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$71,270	$65,687	34%
70	MontanaState	0.84	$62,850	$65,197	22%
71	VermontState	0.82	$65,330	$63,737	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).