Best Cities for Cooks, Fast Foods

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cooks, fast foods 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	HawaiiState	1.42	$48,120	$43,745	59%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.27	$44,670	$39,081	56%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.27	$47,220	$39,285	80%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$44,030	$38,521	60%
5	CaliforniaState	1.23	$42,050	$37,986	65%
6	VermontState	1.21	$38,230	$37,298	45%
7	OregonState	1.19	$37,880	$36,777	50%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.19	$41,600	$36,652	74%
9	MaineState	1.18	$36,350	$36,423	43%
10	New HampshireState	1.18	$38,590	$36,406	49%
11	WashingtonState	1.18	$39,120	$36,459	58%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.18	$36,380	$36,563	49%
13	IllinoisState	1.16	$34,960	$35,893	45%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.16	$38,580	$35,788	56%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.15	$34,210	$35,561	55%
16	ColoradoState	1.13	$36,900	$35,009	60%
17	MassachusettsState	1.13	$37,870	$34,903	71%
18	MinnesotaState	1.13	$34,120	$34,816	45%
19	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$35,230	$35,055	51%
20	South DakotaState	1.10	$30,950	$34,086	37%
21	MissouriState	1.09	$29,890	$33,736	42%
22	NevadaState	1.09	$33,840	$33,772	51%
23	NebraskaState	1.08	$30,430	$33,257	41%
24	IndianaState	1.07	$29,870	$33,006	42%
25	New MexicoState	1.06	$30,190	$32,815	42%
26	North DakotaState	1.06	$30,220	$32,635	39%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$29,810	$32,686	49%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$38,000	$32,618	72%
29	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$30,110	$32,728	52%
30	AlaskaState	1.05	$33,960	$32,560	48%
31	ArizonaState	1.05	$32,660	$32,369	55%
32	ConnecticutState	1.05	$34,980	$32,509	54%
33	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$30,170	$32,511	51%
34	AlabamaState	1.04	$27,870	$31,998	41%
35	ArkansasState	1.04	$27,710	$32,109	38%
36	IdahoState	1.04	$31,070	$32,197	46%
37	IowaState	1.03	$28,510	$31,962	40%
38	KansasState	1.03	$28,640	$31,822	43%
39	MichiganState	1.03	$29,460	$31,918	46%
40	New YorkState	1.03	$35,770	$31,796	62%
41	UtahState	1.03	$31,800	$31,737	56%
42	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$35,800	$31,738	67%
43	DelawareState	1.02	$31,840	$31,525	51%
44	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$33,290	$31,465	61%
45	OklahomaState	1.01	$27,720	$31,322	42%
46	WisconsinState	1.01	$28,920	$31,333	45%
47	WyomingState	1.01	$28,950	$31,129	41%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$32,220	$31,130	59%
49	TennesseeState	1.00	$28,330	$30,962	53%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$30,010	$30,874	63%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$30,300	$30,761	68%
52	MarylandState	0.99	$33,320	$30,513	60%
53	New JerseyState	0.96	$32,220	$29,614	67%
54	OhioState	0.96	$26,870	$29,723	47%
55	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$28,810	$29,701	54%
56	South CarolinaState	0.96	$27,420	$29,804	55%
57	TexasState	0.96	$28,280	$29,582	59%
58	FloridaState	0.95	$29,900	$29,458	69%
59	VirginiaState	0.94	$29,950	$28,937	63%
60	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$27,690	$28,904	65%
61	GeorgiaState	0.93	$26,940	$28,844	63%
62	North CarolinaState	0.93	$27,190	$28,803	57%
63	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.93	$26,620	$28,778	53%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$30,990	$28,562	79%
65	LouisianaState	0.90	$24,960	$27,703	50%
66	MontanaState	0.90	$26,770	$27,770	51%
67	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$26,940	$27,831	72%
68	West VirginiaState	0.89	$23,120	$27,458	43%
69	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$25,290	$27,048	61%
70	MississippiState	0.87	$22,670	$26,733	47%
71	KentuckyState	0.86	$23,500	$26,554	49%

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