Best Cities for Cooks, Institution and Cafeterias

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cooks, institution and cafeterias 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	AlaskaState	1.24	$48,580	$46,577	34%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.24	$46,570	$46,338	39%
3	WashingtonState	1.24	$49,670	$46,291	46%
4	VermontState	1.21	$46,370	$45,239	37%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.20	$44,830	$45,055	40%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.20	$51,530	$45,083	51%
7	MassachusettsState	1.18	$47,790	$44,046	57%
8	MinnesotaState	1.18	$43,460	$44,347	35%
9	DelawareState	1.17	$44,080	$43,644	37%
10	HawaiiState	1.16	$47,770	$43,427	60%
11	MaineState	1.16	$43,490	$43,577	36%
12	OregonState	1.15	$44,520	$43,223	43%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$51,880	$43,161	73%
14	ConnecticutState	1.14	$46,120	$42,862	41%
15	New HampshireState	1.14	$45,370	$42,802	42%
16	North DakotaState	1.14	$39,490	$42,646	30%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.14	$48,530	$42,758	63%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$45,800	$42,486	47%
19	CaliforniaState	1.12	$46,390	$41,906	59%
20	WisconsinState	1.12	$38,650	$41,874	34%
21	New JerseyState	1.09	$44,520	$40,919	48%
22	New YorkState	1.09	$45,880	$40,782	48%
23	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$38,100	$40,749	41%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$37,360	$40,965	39%
25	ColoradoState	1.08	$42,500	$40,323	52%
26	OhioState	1.08	$36,720	$40,619	34%
27	South DakotaState	1.08	$36,730	$40,452	31%
28	IowaState	1.07	$35,810	$40,146	32%
29	MichiganState	1.07	$36,870	$39,946	36%
30	District of ColumbiaState	1.06	$45,450	$39,764	55%
31	IndianaState	1.06	$35,980	$39,757	35%
32	NebraskaState	1.06	$36,390	$39,770	34%
33	New MexicoState	1.06	$36,470	$39,641	34%
34	WyomingState	1.06	$36,940	$39,720	32%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$44,880	$39,787	53%
36	ArizonaState	1.05	$39,660	$39,306	45%
37	MissouriState	1.05	$34,900	$39,391	36%
38	NevadaState	1.05	$39,430	$39,351	44%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$37,690	$39,342	48%
40	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$37,910	$39,407	49%
41	TennesseeState	1.04	$35,570	$38,874	42%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$36,080	$38,879	43%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$45,400	$38,970	60%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$36,100	$39,027	39%
45	IllinoisState	1.03	$37,440	$38,439	42%
46	MontanaState	1.03	$37,150	$38,537	36%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$37,370	$38,447	51%
48	North CarolinaState	1.02	$36,140	$38,284	43%
49	UtahState	1.02	$38,200	$38,124	47%
50	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$37,080	$38,306	52%
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$35,250	$38,315	44%
52	MarylandState	1.01	$41,380	$37,894	49%
53	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$36,540	$37,670	43%
54	South CarolinaState	1.01	$34,960	$38,000	43%
55	GeorgiaState	1.00	$35,090	$37,570	48%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$38,870	$37,556	49%
57	IdahoState	0.99	$35,600	$36,891	40%
58	TexasState	0.99	$35,360	$36,987	47%
59	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$39,310	$37,155	51%
60	VirginiaState	0.98	$37,890	$36,609	50%
61	FloridaState	0.95	$36,250	$35,714	57%
62	KansasState	0.95	$31,950	$35,500	39%
63	KentuckyState	0.95	$31,550	$35,650	36%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$35,040	$35,574	59%
65	ArkansasState	0.94	$30,240	$35,041	35%
66	West VirginiaState	0.94	$29,740	$35,321	34%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$36,480	$33,622	67%
68	OklahomaState	0.88	$29,270	$33,073	40%
69	MississippiState	0.86	$27,390	$32,300	39%
70	AlabamaState	0.83	$27,120	$31,137	42%
71	LouisianaState	0.76	$25,490	$28,291	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).