Best Cities for Computer Programmerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where computer programmerss 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	ArkansasState	1.29	$111,840	$129,594	9%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.28	$154,920	$128,885	24%
3	ConnecticutState	1.24	$133,820	$124,368	14%
4	MassachusettsState	1.18	$128,390	$118,332	21%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.18	$118,000	$118,593	15%
6	VirginiaState	1.17	$121,610	$117,498	16%
7	WashingtonState	1.17	$125,620	$117,074	18%
8	MarylandState	1.15	$125,570	$114,991	16%
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.15	$130,390	$115,594	18%
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$128,900	$113,568	24%
11	OklahomaState	1.12	$99,780	$112,746	12%
12	MinnesotaState	1.09	$107,250	$109,439	14%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$101,830	$109,731	15%
14	South CarolinaState	1.08	$99,740	$108,413	15%
15	AlabamaState	1.07	$93,800	$107,692	12%
16	HawaiiState	1.07	$118,180	$107,436	24%
17	IndianaState	1.07	$97,000	$107,182	13%
18	KentuckyState	1.07	$94,850	$107,175	12%
19	CaliforniaState	1.05	$116,760	$105,474	23%
20	GeorgiaState	1.05	$98,380	$105,332	17%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$101,910	$105,279	19%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$102,240	$105,185	19%
23	NebraskaState	1.04	$95,150	$103,989	13%
24	UtahState	1.04	$104,890	$104,681	17%
25	KansasState	1.03	$92,960	$103,289	13%
26	TexasState	1.03	$99,330	$103,902	17%
27	MaineState	1.02	$101,780	$101,984	15%
28	MissouriState	1.02	$90,420	$102,054	14%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$100,140	$101,665	21%
30	MississippiState	1.00	$85,120	$100,377	13%
31	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$106,420	$100,586	19%
32	ColoradoState	0.99	$104,610	$99,250	21%
33	North DakotaState	0.99	$92,280	$99,654	13%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$101,420	$97,990	19%
35	New JerseyState	0.96	$104,940	$96,452	21%
36	OregonState	0.96	$99,540	$96,641	19%
37	Rhode IslandState	0.96	$96,470	$95,990	19%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$87,860	$96,338	17%
39	OhioState	0.94	$85,270	$94,325	15%
40	MontanaState	0.93	$89,920	$93,278	15%
41	NevadaState	0.93	$93,600	$93,413	19%
42	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$101,530	$93,576	24%
43	IdahoState	0.92	$89,020	$92,249	16%
44	New YorkState	0.92	$103,980	$92,427	21%
45	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$89,180	$91,938	17%
46	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$107,090	$91,923	25%
47	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$85,340	$92,259	17%
48	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$99,150	$91,976	22%
49	FloridaState	0.91	$93,180	$91,803	22%
50	New MexicoState	0.91	$83,750	$91,033	15%
51	AlaskaState	0.88	$91,700	$87,919	18%
52	ArizonaState	0.88	$88,990	$88,196	20%
53	IowaState	0.88	$79,180	$88,767	14%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$84,720	$88,434	21%
55	VermontState	0.87	$89,560	$87,376	19%
56	WyomingState	0.87	$81,640	$87,785	14%
57	North CarolinaState	0.86	$81,070	$85,879	19%
58	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$80,910	$86,535	19%
59	West VirginiaState	0.77	$65,320	$77,577	15%
60	IllinoisState	0.74	$72,540	$74,476	22%
61	MichiganState	0.71	$65,860	$71,354	20%
62	New HampshireState	0.70	$74,000	$69,811	26%
63	South DakotaState	0.64	$58,240	$64,141	20%

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