Best Cities for Cooks, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cooks, 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	MassachusettsState	1.70	$69,570	$64,120	39%
2	NevadaState	1.36	$51,220	$51,118	34%
3	MissouriState	1.32	$43,990	$49,650	28%
4	IndianaState	1.30	$44,290	$48,939	29%
5	WashingtonState	1.30	$52,510	$48,938	43%
6	North DakotaState	1.27	$44,190	$47,721	27%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$53,910	$47,165	49%
8	GeorgiaState	1.22	$42,960	$45,996	40%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.18	$42,960	$44,380	45%
10	MontanaState	1.17	$42,640	$44,232	32%
11	New JerseyState	1.12	$46,080	$42,353	47%
12	ArizonaState	1.10	$41,740	$41,368	43%
13	ColoradoState	1.09	$43,490	$41,262	51%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$44,340	$41,132	49%
15	OregonState	1.08	$42,020	$40,796	45%
16	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.08	$40,270	$40,883	51%
17	MichiganState	1.07	$37,110	$40,206	36%
18	VermontState	1.07	$41,250	$40,244	41%
19	TennesseeState	1.06	$36,440	$39,825	41%
20	MississippiState	1.05	$33,410	$39,399	32%
21	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.05	$42,890	$39,530	57%
22	OhioState	1.04	$35,360	$39,115	35%
23	CaliforniaState	1.03	$42,860	$38,717	63%
24	FloridaState	1.03	$39,520	$38,936	52%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$38,210	$38,402	46%
26	New YorkState	1.01	$43,000	$38,222	52%
27	MinnesotaState	1.00	$36,850	$37,602	42%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$39,960	$37,769	50%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$38,850	$37,536	49%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$36,220	$37,340	43%
31	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.99	$44,740	$37,221	84%
32	IllinoisState	0.98	$35,940	$36,899	44%
33	WisconsinState	0.97	$33,760	$36,576	39%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$35,500	$36,523	54%
35	HawaiiState	0.96	$39,870	$36,245	72%
36	ArkansasState	0.95	$30,780	$35,666	34%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$33,000	$35,870	47%
38	ConnecticutState	0.92	$37,190	$34,563	51%
39	VirginiaState	0.92	$35,810	$34,599	53%
40	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$33,220	$34,532	56%
41	TexasState	0.89	$32,150	$33,630	52%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$38,850	$33,348	70%
43	North CarolinaState	0.87	$31,120	$32,966	50%
44	LouisianaState	0.85	$28,930	$32,109	43%
45	IowaState	0.78	$26,060	$29,215	44%
46	MarylandState	0.78	$32,150	$29,441	63%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.75	$31,880	$28,262	75%

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