Best Cities for Crossing Guards and Flaggerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where crossing guards and flaggerss 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.73	$61,690	$65,979	25%
2	North DakotaState	1.71	$60,230	$65,043	19%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.51	$57,190	$57,477	31%
4	South DakotaState	1.36	$46,940	$51,696	24%
5	WyomingState	1.33	$47,070	$50,613	25%
6	MinnesotaState	1.29	$48,100	$49,082	32%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.28	$58,810	$48,927	64%
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.25	$55,700	$47,811	49%
9	IowaState	1.21	$41,240	$46,233	28%
10	CaliforniaState	1.20	$50,610	$45,718	54%
11	OregonState	1.20	$47,110	$45,738	41%
12	WashingtonState	1.20	$48,940	$45,610	47%
13	VermontState	1.16	$45,410	$44,302	38%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.16	$47,570	$44,128	45%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.15	$50,020	$43,762	53%
16	New HampshireState	1.14	$45,980	$43,377	41%
17	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.13	$41,600	$43,243	45%
18	IdahoState	1.09	$40,060	$41,513	36%
19	IndianaState	1.09	$37,440	$41,370	34%
20	NebraskaState	1.09	$37,990	$41,519	33%
21	OhioState	1.09	$37,440	$41,416	33%
22	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$37,840	$41,491	39%
23	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$38,160	$41,478	41%
24	MaineState	1.06	$40,140	$40,220	39%
25	IllinoisState	1.05	$38,990	$40,031	40%
26	MassachusettsState	1.05	$43,460	$40,055	62%
27	MichiganState	1.04	$36,540	$39,588	37%
28	New YorkState	1.04	$44,730	$39,760	50%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$44,840	$39,507	68%
30	KansasState	1.03	$35,440	$39,378	35%
31	TennesseeState	1.03	$35,960	$39,301	42%
32	ConnecticutState	1.02	$41,950	$38,987	45%
33	HawaiiState	1.02	$42,780	$38,891	67%
34	KentuckyState	1.02	$34,450	$38,927	33%
35	West VirginiaState	1.02	$32,800	$38,955	31%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$35,990	$38,908	39%
37	WisconsinState	1.01	$35,580	$38,548	37%
38	New JerseyState	1.00	$41,600	$38,235	52%
39	MissouriState	0.99	$33,560	$37,878	37%
40	ArizonaState	0.97	$37,440	$37,106	48%
41	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$35,810	$36,918	43%
42	GeorgiaState	0.96	$34,230	$36,649	50%
43	DelawareState	0.95	$36,500	$36,139	45%
44	VirginiaState	0.95	$37,560	$36,290	50%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$34,990	$36,147	55%
46	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$34,690	$36,211	52%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$37,350	$36,087	51%
48	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$35,780	$36,325	58%
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$40,800	$36,170	59%
50	ArkansasState	0.94	$30,830	$35,724	34%
51	ColoradoState	0.94	$37,620	$35,693	59%
52	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$40,800	$35,696	62%
53	North CarolinaState	0.94	$33,730	$35,731	46%
54	South CarolinaState	0.93	$32,690	$35,533	46%
55	UtahState	0.93	$35,480	$35,409	50%
56	FloridaState	0.92	$35,730	$35,202	58%
57	TexasState	0.92	$33,350	$34,885	50%
58	New MexicoState	0.90	$31,460	$34,196	40%
59	MontanaState	0.89	$32,600	$33,817	42%
60	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.89	$35,850	$33,885	56%
61	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$31,460	$33,901	49%
62	AlabamaState	0.88	$29,190	$33,513	39%
63	MarylandState	0.86	$35,850	$32,830	56%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$31,730	$32,644	60%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$35,750	$32,949	68%
66	OklahomaState	0.85	$28,610	$32,328	41%
67	NevadaState	0.82	$31,480	$31,417	55%
68	Rhode IslandState	0.81	$31,200	$31,045	58%
69	LouisianaState	0.74	$25,450	$28,246	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).