Best Cities for Credit Analystss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where credit analystss 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	New YorkState	1.42	$133,270	$118,462	17%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.39	$132,590	$116,002	19%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$129,240	$107,521	29%
4	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.26	$100,640	$105,052	18%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.22	$114,700	$101,684	21%
6	North CarolinaState	1.20	$94,570	$100,180	17%
7	VirginiaState	1.19	$102,430	$98,966	18%
8	DelawareState	1.12	$94,680	$93,743	17%
9	New JerseyState	1.11	$100,940	$92,776	21%
10	AlabamaState	1.10	$79,970	$91,814	14%
11	ConnecticutState	1.09	$98,230	$91,292	19%
12	HawaiiState	1.08	$98,900	$89,909	29%
13	KentuckyState	1.07	$79,290	$89,593	14%
14	MassachusettsState	1.07	$97,080	$89,475	28%
15	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$101,890	$89,771	30%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$92,460	$89,333	21%
17	CaliforniaState	1.06	$97,860	$88,401	28%
18	MississippiState	1.06	$74,880	$88,302	14%
19	OhioState	1.06	$79,720	$88,186	16%
20	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$81,580	$88,195	17%
21	IllinoisState	1.04	$84,990	$87,259	19%
22	NebraskaState	1.04	$79,730	$87,137	16%
23	IowaState	1.03	$76,760	$86,054	15%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$80,500	$86,096	19%
25	OklahomaState	1.02	$75,330	$85,119	15%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$85,920	$85,493	21%
27	WashingtonState	1.02	$91,160	$84,958	25%
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$84,570	$84,995	21%
29	MinnesotaState	1.01	$82,630	$84,316	19%
30	South CarolinaState	1.01	$77,530	$84,272	19%
31	GeorgiaState	1.00	$77,990	$83,501	22%
32	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$80,750	$83,419	24%
33	ArkansasState	0.99	$71,370	$82,700	15%
34	IdahoState	0.99	$79,650	$82,539	18%
35	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$80,280	$82,763	19%
36	TexasState	0.99	$78,730	$82,354	21%
37	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$80,530	$82,850	24%
38	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$94,270	$82,476	28%
39	MaineState	0.98	$81,750	$81,914	19%
40	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$74,640	$81,842	20%
41	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$95,640	$82,094	28%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$78,410	$81,507	24%
43	KansasState	0.97	$73,120	$81,244	17%
44	LouisianaState	0.97	$73,210	$81,254	17%
45	MichiganState	0.97	$74,640	$80,867	18%
46	North DakotaState	0.97	$74,810	$80,788	16%
47	South DakotaState	0.96	$73,040	$80,441	16%
48	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$78,940	$80,142	26%
49	TennesseeState	0.95	$72,550	$79,290	21%
50	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$73,330	$79,019	21%
51	New MexicoState	0.94	$72,160	$78,435	17%
52	AlaskaState	0.93	$81,340	$77,987	20%
53	MontanaState	0.93	$74,650	$77,438	18%
54	OregonState	0.93	$80,380	$78,039	24%
55	ColoradoState	0.92	$81,270	$77,106	27%
56	FloridaState	0.92	$78,360	$77,202	26%
57	ArizonaState	0.91	$77,020	$76,333	23%
58	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.91	$82,110	$76,169	26%
59	UtahState	0.89	$74,430	$74,281	24%
60	WisconsinState	0.89	$68,690	$74,420	19%
61	MissouriState	0.88	$65,350	$73,758	19%
62	New HampshireState	0.88	$77,980	$73,566	24%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.88	$77,460	$73,214	26%
64	NevadaState	0.87	$73,090	$72,944	24%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$77,750	$71,659	31%
66	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$66,010	$71,750	24%
67	IndianaState	0.83	$62,660	$69,238	20%
68	MarylandState	0.83	$75,390	$69,038	27%
69	VermontState	0.83	$71,220	$69,483	24%
70	West VirginiaState	0.82	$57,320	$68,076	18%
71	WyomingState	0.80	$62,210	$66,892	19%

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