Best Cities for Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where claims adjusters, examiners, and investigatorss 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	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.20	$98,700	$93,289	20%
2	AlabamaState	1.17	$79,710	$91,515	14%
3	MississippiState	1.17	$77,100	$90,920	14%
4	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.14	$81,830	$88,946	19%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$101,150	$88,495	25%
6	New JerseyState	1.13	$95,690	$87,950	23%
7	MarylandState	1.12	$95,560	$87,509	21%
8	South DakotaState	1.11	$78,900	$86,894	15%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$79,060	$86,689	18%
10	ArkansasState	1.10	$73,920	$85,655	14%
11	KansasState	1.10	$77,290	$85,878	16%
12	MichiganState	1.10	$78,850	$85,428	17%
13	MissouriState	1.10	$75,840	$85,598	16%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.10	$86,520	$86,090	21%
15	TennesseeState	1.09	$78,010	$85,257	19%
16	WisconsinState	1.09	$78,160	$84,680	17%
17	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$82,890	$85,278	23%
18	AlaskaState	1.08	$87,670	$84,056	19%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$78,090	$84,149	20%
20	KentuckyState	1.07	$73,840	$83,435	16%
21	CaliforniaState	1.06	$91,790	$82,918	30%
22	NebraskaState	1.06	$75,830	$82,874	17%
23	TexasState	1.06	$78,800	$82,427	21%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$76,440	$82,638	18%
25	ConnecticutState	1.05	$88,330	$82,091	21%
26	South CarolinaState	1.05	$75,370	$81,924	20%
27	VermontState	1.05	$83,970	$81,922	20%
28	WyomingState	1.05	$76,400	$82,151	15%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$78,680	$82,129	23%
30	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.05	$98,230	$81,722	38%
31	IndianaState	1.04	$73,560	$81,282	17%
32	IowaState	1.04	$72,640	$81,435	16%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$78,030	$81,112	24%
34	IdahoState	1.03	$77,340	$80,145	19%
35	OklahomaState	1.03	$71,260	$80,520	16%
36	MinnesotaState	1.02	$78,350	$79,949	20%
37	North CarolinaState	1.02	$75,310	$79,778	21%
38	OregonState	1.02	$81,640	$79,262	23%
39	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$77,290	$79,680	20%
40	West VirginiaState	1.02	$67,290	$79,917	15%
41	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$77,990	$79,178	26%
42	GeorgiaState	1.01	$73,320	$78,501	23%
43	IllinoisState	1.01	$77,010	$79,066	20%
44	MaineState	1.01	$78,590	$78,747	20%
45	New HampshireState	1.01	$83,890	$79,142	23%
46	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$78,460	$78,854	23%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$81,560	$78,802	23%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$75,770	$78,275	26%
49	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$88,390	$77,877	35%
50	MassachusettsState	0.99	$83,740	$77,180	32%
51	New YorkState	0.99	$87,130	$77,449	25%
52	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$89,070	$76,455	31%
53	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$82,160	$76,215	26%
54	FloridaState	0.97	$76,920	$75,783	27%
55	OhioState	0.96	$67,990	$75,210	18%
56	WashingtonState	0.96	$80,700	$75,210	28%
57	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$84,590	$74,991	28%
58	New MexicoState	0.95	$67,930	$73,837	19%
59	ColoradoState	0.94	$77,620	$73,643	29%
60	LouisianaState	0.93	$65,220	$72,386	19%
61	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$78,730	$72,562	31%
62	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$83,200	$72,791	32%
63	DelawareState	0.92	$72,370	$71,653	22%
64	HawaiiState	0.92	$79,080	$71,891	36%
65	VirginiaState	0.92	$74,240	$71,729	25%
66	North DakotaState	0.91	$65,460	$70,691	18%
67	UtahState	0.88	$69,000	$68,862	26%
68	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$64,180	$68,642	24%
69	MontanaState	0.85	$63,860	$66,245	21%
70	ArizonaState	0.83	$65,110	$64,529	28%
71	NevadaState	0.80	$62,730	$62,605	28%

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