Best Cities for Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Films

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where camera operators, television, video, and films 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	IllinoisState	1.37	$100,170	$102,844	16%
2	CaliforniaState	1.29	$106,900	$96,567	25%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.23	$107,620	$92,378	25%
4	GeorgiaState	1.21	$85,050	$91,060	20%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.15	$98,300	$86,002	26%
6	New YorkState	1.11	$93,410	$83,031	24%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$80,380	$80,784	22%
8	AlaskaState	1.07	$83,620	$80,173	20%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$76,250	$78,771	25%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$72,540	$77,583	21%
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$83,320	$73,865	29%
12	UtahState	0.98	$73,450	$73,303	24%
13	OhioState	0.96	$64,860	$71,748	19%
14	AlabamaState	0.95	$61,800	$70,953	19%
15	ColoradoState	0.95	$74,990	$71,148	30%
16	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$64,490	$70,098	24%
17	ArizonaState	0.90	$68,250	$67,641	26%
18	KansasState	0.90	$60,690	$67,433	20%
19	North CarolinaState	0.89	$62,720	$66,441	25%
20	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$63,990	$66,795	28%
21	TexasState	0.88	$63,110	$66,015	26%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$64,380	$66,235	30%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.88	$61,150	$65,894	25%
24	IowaState	0.86	$57,220	$64,148	20%
25	LouisianaState	0.86	$58,440	$64,861	22%
26	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$63,230	$64,193	33%
27	IndianaState	0.84	$56,810	$62,773	22%
28	South CarolinaState	0.84	$57,940	$62,978	26%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.84	$57,690	$63,257	25%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.84	$60,800	$63,202	31%
31	NevadaState	0.83	$62,110	$61,986	28%
32	TennesseeState	0.83	$57,030	$62,328	26%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$65,870	$62,259	31%
34	FloridaState	0.82	$62,220	$61,300	33%
35	ConnecticutState	0.81	$65,630	$60,994	29%
36	KentuckyState	0.81	$53,790	$60,780	21%
37	IdahoState	0.80	$58,140	$60,249	25%
38	MarylandState	0.80	$65,870	$60,321	31%
39	MichiganState	0.80	$55,290	$59,902	24%
40	MississippiState	0.79	$49,920	$58,868	22%
41	North DakotaState	0.77	$53,650	$57,937	22%
42	WisconsinState	0.76	$52,810	$57,216	25%
43	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$62,220	$57,346	39%
44	ArkansasState	0.75	$48,680	$56,408	22%
45	MassachusettsState	0.75	$61,320	$56,516	44%
46	VirginiaState	0.75	$58,440	$56,464	32%
47	WashingtonState	0.75	$60,250	$56,151	38%
48	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.74	$62,810	$55,339	49%
49	OklahomaState	0.73	$48,620	$54,938	24%
50	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.72	$61,820	$54,086	43%
51	New MexicoState	0.71	$49,050	$53,315	26%
52	PennsylvaniaState	0.71	$51,760	$53,361	30%
53	MinnesotaState	0.70	$51,420	$52,469	30%
54	MontanaState	0.70	$50,910	$52,811	27%
55	West VirginiaState	0.69	$43,390	$51,532	23%
56	NebraskaState	0.67	$46,180	$50,470	27%
57	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.67	$52,040	$50,280	37%
58	Rhode IslandState	0.66	$49,790	$49,542	36%
59	South DakotaState	0.65	$44,160	$48,634	26%
60	VermontState	0.60	$46,350	$45,220	37%
61	New HampshireState	0.58	$45,880	$43,283	41%
62	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.56	$38,630	$41,762	37%
63	HawaiiState	0.54	$44,230	$40,209	65%
64	MaineState	0.50	$37,590	$37,665	41%

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