Best Cities for Cost Estimatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where cost estimatorss 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	WyomingState	1.24	$90,790	$97,624	13%
2	AlaskaState	1.18	$97,020	$93,020	17%
3	MassachusettsState	1.18	$100,840	$92,940	27%
4	West VirginiaState	1.17	$77,480	$92,019	13%
5	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.15	$102,640	$90,432	30%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$80,200	$87,939	18%
7	AlabamaState	1.09	$74,990	$86,096	15%
8	LouisianaState	1.09	$77,030	$85,494	16%
9	MissouriState	1.09	$76,020	$85,801	16%
10	OhioState	1.09	$77,730	$85,985	16%
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$82,870	$85,610	23%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$79,990	$85,551	19%
13	IllinoisState	1.08	$82,750	$84,959	19%
14	IowaState	1.08	$76,040	$85,247	15%
15	KansasState	1.08	$76,250	$84,722	16%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$78,940	$85,065	20%
17	KentuckyState	1.07	$74,880	$84,610	15%
18	MichiganState	1.07	$77,990	$84,496	17%
19	MississippiState	1.07	$71,230	$83,998	15%
20	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.07	$81,300	$84,511	23%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$77,980	$84,303	18%
22	ColoradoState	1.05	$86,940	$82,486	25%
23	IdahoState	1.05	$79,700	$82,591	18%
24	MinnesotaState	1.05	$80,810	$82,459	19%
25	South DakotaState	1.05	$74,950	$82,544	15%
26	TennesseeState	1.05	$75,650	$82,678	20%
27	WisconsinState	1.05	$76,270	$82,633	17%
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$82,440	$82,854	22%
29	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$94,490	$82,668	28%
30	GeorgiaState	1.04	$76,800	$82,227	22%
31	NevadaState	1.04	$82,200	$82,036	21%
32	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$81,990	$81,582	22%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$79,290	$81,574	24%
34	IndianaState	1.03	$73,430	$81,138	17%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$78,480	$80,907	20%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$77,990	$81,409	23%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$74,830	$81,337	21%
38	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.03	$97,580	$81,181	39%
39	MontanaState	1.02	$77,320	$80,207	18%
40	TexasState	1.02	$76,980	$80,523	22%
41	WashingtonState	1.02	$86,070	$80,214	26%
42	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$78,740	$79,939	26%
43	NebraskaState	1.01	$73,100	$79,891	17%
44	North CarolinaState	1.01	$74,730	$79,163	21%
45	North DakotaState	1.01	$73,280	$79,136	16%
46	UtahState	1.01	$79,610	$79,451	22%
47	VermontState	1.01	$81,390	$79,405	21%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.01	$89,330	$79,193	27%
49	DelawareState	1.00	$79,290	$78,505	21%
50	OregonState	0.99	$80,460	$78,117	24%
51	VirginiaState	0.99	$80,530	$77,807	23%
52	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.99	$83,800	$77,737	26%
53	CaliforniaState	0.98	$85,460	$77,200	32%
54	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$79,880	$77,179	24%
55	ArizonaState	0.97	$77,010	$76,323	23%
56	OklahomaState	0.97	$67,800	$76,610	17%
57	South CarolinaState	0.97	$70,260	$76,370	21%
58	ConnecticutState	0.96	$81,030	$75,307	23%
59	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$80,130	$75,737	25%
60	New HampshireState	0.95	$79,560	$75,057	24%
61	FloridaState	0.94	$74,990	$73,882	28%
62	MaineState	0.94	$74,080	$74,228	21%
63	MarylandState	0.94	$81,190	$74,350	25%
64	New JerseyState	0.94	$80,570	$74,053	27%
65	HawaiiState	0.93	$80,360	$73,055	36%
66	New MexicoState	0.93	$67,590	$73,467	19%
67	District of ColumbiaState	0.92	$82,730	$72,380	30%
68	New YorkState	0.91	$80,430	$71,493	28%
69	ArkansasState	0.90	$61,470	$71,228	17%
70	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$82,260	$70,609	33%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$76,040	$70,083	32%

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