Best Cities for Commercial and Industrial Designerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where commercial and industrial designerss 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.41	$108,180	$118,618	14%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.40	$141,310	$117,562	27%
3	KansasState	1.39	$104,870	$116,522	12%
4	MichiganState	1.32	$102,160	$110,683	13%
5	LouisianaState	1.30	$98,040	$108,812	13%
6	ArkansasState	1.28	$92,540	$107,231	11%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.20	$101,140	$100,637	18%
8	GeorgiaState	1.17	$91,360	$97,816	19%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.17	$94,680	$97,810	20%
10	IndianaState	1.16	$88,040	$97,282	14%
11	MinnesotaState	1.15	$94,370	$96,296	16%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$94,390	$94,864	19%
13	MassachusettsState	1.12	$101,720	$93,751	27%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$84,760	$91,632	17%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.09	$104,980	$91,846	25%
16	CaliforniaState	1.08	$100,770	$91,030	27%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$102,530	$90,335	30%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$86,920	$89,424	22%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$81,620	$88,717	19%
20	OhioState	1.05	$79,470	$87,909	16%
21	WashingtonState	1.05	$94,280	$87,866	24%
22	WisconsinState	1.04	$80,590	$87,313	16%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$83,770	$87,443	22%
24	OklahomaState	1.03	$76,640	$86,599	15%
25	West VirginiaState	1.03	$73,030	$86,734	14%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$80,450	$86,692	19%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$89,190	$86,174	21%
28	ColoradoState	1.02	$90,590	$85,949	24%
29	KentuckyState	1.02	$76,100	$85,989	15%
30	North CarolinaState	1.02	$80,620	$85,403	19%
31	MissouriState	1.01	$75,440	$85,147	16%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$82,610	$85,165	19%
33	IdahoState	1.00	$80,730	$83,658	18%
34	South CarolinaState	1.00	$77,300	$84,022	19%
35	New JerseyState	0.99	$90,310	$83,006	24%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$77,640	$83,037	20%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$96,260	$82,627	28%
38	New YorkState	0.95	$89,640	$79,680	25%
39	VirginiaState	0.95	$82,230	$79,449	23%
40	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$78,890	$80,091	26%
41	IowaState	0.94	$70,420	$78,946	16%
42	VermontState	0.94	$80,690	$78,722	21%
43	NebraskaState	0.93	$71,570	$78,219	18%
44	TennesseeState	0.93	$71,230	$77,847	21%
45	FloridaState	0.92	$78,720	$77,557	26%
46	NevadaState	0.91	$76,680	$76,527	23%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$85,660	$75,940	28%
48	ArizonaState	0.90	$76,420	$75,738	24%
49	ConnecticutState	0.90	$81,300	$75,558	23%
50	MontanaState	0.90	$72,990	$75,716	19%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.90	$79,820	$75,444	25%
52	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$81,450	$75,557	26%
53	OregonState	0.89	$76,970	$74,728	25%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$80,690	$74,369	30%
55	AlabamaState	0.87	$63,640	$73,065	18%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.84	$68,020	$70,707	27%
57	New HampshireState	0.83	$74,050	$69,858	26%
58	New MexicoState	0.81	$62,710	$68,163	20%
59	South DakotaState	0.79	$60,110	$66,200	19%
60	MarylandState	0.77	$70,870	$64,899	28%
61	UtahState	0.74	$62,620	$62,495	29%

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