Best Cities for Community and Social Service Specialists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where community and social service specialists, all others 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.41	$74,800	$80,000	21%
2	WyomingState	1.39	$73,270	$78,785	16%
3	North DakotaState	1.21	$63,490	$68,564	18%
4	VirginiaState	1.19	$69,810	$67,449	27%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.19	$62,290	$67,341	23%
6	KentuckyState	1.16	$58,150	$65,706	20%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$63,510	$63,194	28%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.09	$70,630	$61,794	37%
9	District of ColumbiaState	1.07	$69,130	$60,481	36%
10	OklahomaState	1.07	$53,640	$60,610	22%
11	WashingtonState	1.06	$64,340	$59,963	35%
12	WisconsinState	1.05	$55,220	$59,827	24%
13	New YorkState	1.04	$66,580	$59,182	33%
14	TennesseeState	1.04	$53,850	$58,852	28%
15	NebraskaState	1.02	$53,170	$58,109	24%
16	North CarolinaState	1.02	$54,820	$58,072	28%
17	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$54,820	$57,223	33%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$56,780	$57,065	31%
19	MissouriState	1.00	$50,180	$56,637	25%
20	New JerseyState	1.00	$61,910	$56,903	35%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$54,770	$56,464	28%
22	South CarolinaState	0.99	$51,880	$56,391	29%
23	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$54,250	$56,393	34%
24	HawaiiState	0.98	$61,000	$55,455	47%
25	MinnesotaState	0.97	$54,050	$55,153	28%
26	OregonState	0.97	$56,770	$55,117	34%
27	AlaskaState	0.96	$56,730	$54,391	29%
28	IndianaState	0.96	$49,070	$54,221	26%
29	LouisianaState	0.96	$49,080	$54,473	26%
30	MichiganState	0.96	$50,020	$54,193	27%
31	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$49,560	$54,342	29%
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$58,860	$54,601	37%
33	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$49,920	$54,261	31%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$57,080	$53,951	35%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$50,240	$54,138	31%
36	CaliforniaState	0.94	$58,770	$53,089	46%
37	DelawareState	0.94	$53,640	$53,109	30%
38	New HampshireState	0.94	$56,730	$53,519	34%
39	New MexicoState	0.94	$48,820	$53,065	26%
40	ColoradoState	0.93	$55,490	$52,647	40%
41	KansasState	0.93	$47,650	$52,944	26%
42	MassachusettsState	0.93	$57,360	$52,866	47%
43	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$59,890	$52,767	51%
44	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$57,200	$52,719	43%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$54,770	$52,918	35%
46	ArizonaState	0.92	$52,410	$51,943	34%
47	IdahoState	0.92	$50,390	$52,218	29%
48	IowaState	0.92	$46,460	$52,085	25%
49	MississippiState	0.92	$44,340	$52,288	24%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$50,720	$52,181	38%
51	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.92	$62,720	$52,180	60%
52	VermontState	0.91	$53,150	$51,854	32%
53	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$58,440	$51,809	41%
54	OhioState	0.90	$45,980	$50,863	27%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$50,550	$51,320	41%
56	TexasState	0.89	$48,400	$50,628	34%
57	ConnecticutState	0.88	$53,840	$50,037	35%
58	FloridaState	0.88	$50,440	$49,695	41%
59	NevadaState	0.87	$49,600	$49,501	35%
60	West VirginiaState	0.86	$41,060	$48,765	24%
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$47,160	$48,719	41%
62	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$56,960	$48,893	48%
63	GeorgiaState	0.85	$45,220	$48,415	38%
64	ArkansasState	0.83	$40,840	$47,323	26%
65	MarylandState	0.82	$51,000	$46,703	40%
66	UtahState	0.81	$46,230	$46,138	39%
67	MaineState	0.78	$44,160	$44,248	35%
68	MontanaState	0.77	$41,850	$43,413	32%
69	IllinoisState	0.74	$40,900	$41,992	38%

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