Best Cities for Craft Artistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where craft artistss 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	CaliforniaState	1.97	$100,540	$90,822	27%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.87	$100,410	$86,189	27%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.66	$74,110	$76,560	26%
4	MissouriState	1.51	$61,780	$69,729	20%
5	WisconsinState	1.38	$58,650	$63,543	22%
6	TexasState	1.24	$54,690	$57,207	30%
7	MaineState	1.16	$53,380	$53,487	29%
8	GeorgiaState	1.14	$48,880	$52,334	35%
9	OregonState	1.08	$51,060	$49,573	37%
10	FloridaState	1.04	$48,710	$47,990	42%
11	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$49,290	$47,623	39%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.03	$51,060	$47,365	42%
13	AlabamaState	1.02	$40,800	$46,843	28%
14	ArizonaState	1.00	$46,300	$45,887	39%
15	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$41,220	$44,804	38%
16	IllinoisState	0.96	$43,040	$44,189	37%
17	MassachusettsState	0.95	$47,660	$43,926	57%
18	New YorkState	0.95	$49,020	$43,573	45%
19	PennsylvaniaState	0.93	$41,600	$42,887	37%
20	OhioState	0.91	$38,070	$42,113	33%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$47,340	$41,968	51%
22	ColoradoState	0.90	$43,620	$41,385	51%
23	WashingtonState	0.89	$44,120	$41,118	52%
24	AlaskaState	0.87	$41,600	$39,885	39%
25	South CarolinaState	0.83	$35,050	$38,098	43%
26	TennesseeState	0.78	$32,830	$35,880	46%
27	ConnecticutState	0.69	$34,010	$31,608	55%
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.62	$25,960	$28,465	56%
29	MichiganState	0.61	$25,960	$28,126	52%
30	MinnesotaState	0.61	$27,560	$28,122	56%

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