Best Cities for Court, Municipal, and License Clerkss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where court, municipal, and license clerkss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.43	$83,490	$69,459	45%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.40	$77,860	$68,119	34%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.26	$61,670	$61,363	29%
4	WashingtonState	1.24	$64,680	$60,280	35%
5	OregonState	1.22	$61,300	$59,515	31%
6	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$66,130	$57,857	38%
7	North DakotaState	1.19	$53,850	$58,153	22%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$62,350	$57,839	35%
9	MinnesotaState	1.18	$56,520	$57,673	27%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.18	$57,180	$57,467	31%
11	CaliforniaState	1.17	$63,320	$57,200	43%
12	MassachusettsState	1.17	$61,730	$56,894	44%
13	NevadaState	1.16	$56,680	$56,567	31%
14	WisconsinState	1.16	$51,920	$56,251	25%
15	ConnecticutState	1.15	$60,480	$56,208	31%
16	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.14	$58,670	$55,454	34%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.14	$62,850	$55,374	49%
18	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$50,520	$55,395	29%
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.14	$64,610	$55,459	42%
20	IowaState	1.11	$48,280	$54,126	24%
21	MarylandState	1.10	$58,380	$53,462	35%
22	NebraskaState	1.09	$48,420	$52,918	26%
23	OhioState	1.09	$48,030	$53,131	26%
24	MichiganState	1.08	$48,690	$52,752	28%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$49,240	$52,663	32%
26	AlaskaState	1.07	$54,270	$52,033	30%
27	North CarolinaState	1.07	$49,110	$52,023	32%
28	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.07	$49,960	$51,933	37%
29	LouisianaState	1.06	$46,570	$51,687	27%
30	VermontState	1.06	$53,000	$51,707	32%
31	IndianaState	1.05	$46,350	$51,215	27%
32	New MexicoState	1.05	$46,960	$51,043	27%
33	UtahState	1.05	$51,130	$51,028	35%
34	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$49,110	$51,263	37%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$49,030	$50,442	39%
36	IdahoState	1.03	$48,450	$50,207	30%
37	WyomingState	1.03	$46,540	$50,043	25%
38	KansasState	1.02	$44,740	$49,711	28%
39	KentuckyState	1.01	$43,680	$49,356	26%
40	New JerseyState	1.01	$53,700	$49,357	40%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$45,230	$49,163	35%
42	MaineState	1.00	$48,580	$48,677	32%
43	TennesseeState	1.00	$44,720	$48,874	34%
44	TexasState	1.00	$46,580	$48,724	36%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$47,080	$48,636	41%
46	ArizonaState	0.99	$48,700	$48,266	37%
47	IllinoisState	0.99	$46,920	$48,172	34%
48	South DakotaState	0.99	$43,850	$48,293	26%
49	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$47,640	$48,365	43%
50	ColoradoState	0.98	$50,410	$47,827	44%
51	New YorkState	0.98	$53,500	$47,556	41%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$49,550	$47,874	39%
53	HawaiiState	0.97	$51,890	$47,173	55%
54	MontanaState	0.97	$45,680	$47,386	30%
55	South CarolinaState	0.97	$43,460	$47,239	35%
56	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$53,210	$47,172	45%
57	FloridaState	0.95	$47,100	$46,404	44%
58	MissouriState	0.95	$41,020	$46,298	30%
59	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$44,830	$46,216	35%
60	GeorgiaState	0.94	$42,960	$45,996	40%
61	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.93	$41,830	$45,075	37%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$48,940	$45,106	50%
63	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.93	$42,020	$45,427	34%
64	West VirginiaState	0.92	$37,810	$44,905	27%
65	DelawareState	0.91	$44,600	$44,158	36%
66	OklahomaState	0.91	$39,120	$44,203	30%
67	VirginiaState	0.91	$45,650	$44,106	41%
68	AlabamaState	0.90	$38,360	$44,041	30%
69	MississippiState	0.90	$37,210	$43,880	29%
70	New HampshireState	0.90	$46,590	$43,953	41%
71	ArkansasState	0.88	$36,960	$42,827	29%

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