Best Cities for Chief Executivess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chief executivess 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	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.63	$375,810	$348,618	6%
2	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.61	$329,030	$343,455	5%
3	IllinoisState	1.59	$331,920	$340,780	5%
4	North CarolinaState	1.56	$314,290	$332,934	5%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.56	$304,110	$333,454	5%
6	OregonState	1.55	$341,630	$331,680	6%
7	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.54	$320,060	$329,280	6%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.51	$370,000	$323,710	7%
9	WashingtonState	1.48	$339,810	$316,692	7%
10	South DakotaState	1.45	$280,900	$309,361	4%
11	VirginiaState	1.40	$310,740	$300,232	6%
12	New JerseyState	1.33	$310,440	$285,331	7%
13	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.33	$275,820	$284,938	7%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.32	$292,770	$282,870	7%
15	IndianaState	1.31	$254,180	$280,862	5%
16	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.30	$256,610	$278,924	6%
17	MichiganState	1.29	$255,560	$276,880	5%
18	ConnecticutState	1.28	$295,120	$274,275	6%
19	TexasState	1.26	$257,850	$269,718	6%
20	HawaiiState	1.20	$281,640	$256,036	10%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.18	$268,030	$253,336	8%
22	PennsylvaniaState	1.12	$232,560	$239,753	7%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.12	$221,640	$238,836	7%
24	IowaState	1.11	$211,190	$236,760	5%
25	NebraskaState	1.10	$214,680	$234,623	6%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$235,360	$234,189	8%
27	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$216,060	$233,578	7%
28	New YorkState	1.07	$257,980	$229,316	9%
29	MarylandState	1.06	$248,660	$227,711	8%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.06	$218,190	$226,809	9%
31	WisconsinState	1.05	$208,350	$225,731	6%
32	GeorgiaState	1.04	$208,180	$222,891	8%
33	TennesseeState	1.02	$198,830	$217,301	8%
34	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$209,980	$211,035	8%
35	ColoradoState	0.95	$213,370	$202,438	10%
36	KentuckyState	0.95	$179,530	$202,859	6%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.94	$234,290	$201,107	12%
38	DelawareState	0.93	$199,990	$198,010	8%
39	MinnesotaState	0.93	$195,670	$199,663	8%
40	CaliforniaState	0.92	$218,600	$197,471	12%
41	MissouriState	0.91	$172,320	$194,492	7%
42	OhioState	0.91	$176,440	$195,177	7%
43	AlabamaState	0.89	$166,420	$191,068	7%
44	MontanaState	0.88	$182,340	$189,149	7%
45	IdahoState	0.86	$177,210	$183,637	8%
46	OklahomaState	0.86	$163,790	$185,073	7%
47	South CarolinaState	0.86	$168,840	$183,522	9%
48	West VirginiaState	0.84	$151,950	$180,463	7%
49	North DakotaState	0.83	$164,560	$177,711	7%
50	KansasState	0.82	$158,100	$175,667	8%
51	Columbus, OHMetro	0.81	$162,910	$174,235	10%
52	UtahState	0.80	$171,880	$171,537	10%
53	VermontState	0.80	$175,070	$170,800	10%
54	MississippiState	0.77	$139,250	$164,210	8%
55	AlaskaState	0.75	$166,710	$159,837	10%
56	New HampshireState	0.74	$168,590	$159,047	11%
57	WyomingState	0.74	$147,940	$159,075	8%
58	NevadaState	0.70	$149,770	$149,471	12%
59	ArkansasState	0.65	$119,990	$139,038	9%
60	MaineState	0.65	$138,770	$139,048	11%
61	New MexicoState	0.63	$123,500	$134,239	10%

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