Best Cities for Curatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where curatorss 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	South DakotaState	1.30	$74,990	$82,588	15%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.29	$93,310	$81,636	27%
3	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.25	$73,330	$79,276	19%
4	New HampshireState	1.23	$82,490	$77,821	23%
5	Columbus, OHMetro	1.23	$72,780	$77,840	21%
6	Rhode IslandState	1.22	$77,930	$77,542	23%
7	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.22	$75,260	$77,428	25%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.22	$87,400	$77,482	27%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.15	$66,400	$72,807	22%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$72,760	$73,126	24%
11	MassachusettsState	1.13	$77,790	$71,696	35%
12	New JerseyState	1.13	$77,800	$71,507	28%
13	CaliforniaState	1.12	$78,740	$71,129	35%
14	ConnecticutState	1.12	$76,510	$71,106	25%
15	AlabamaState	1.11	$61,120	$70,172	19%
16	New YorkState	1.11	$79,120	$70,329	28%
17	OhioState	1.11	$63,640	$70,398	20%
18	ColoradoState	1.10	$73,630	$69,858	30%
19	NevadaState	1.10	$69,900	$69,760	25%
20	WisconsinState	1.10	$64,370	$69,740	20%
21	New MexicoState	1.09	$63,690	$69,228	20%
22	WashingtonState	1.09	$74,030	$68,993	31%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$78,720	$69,357	39%
24	MichiganState	1.08	$63,190	$68,462	21%
25	OklahomaState	1.08	$60,560	$68,429	19%
26	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$78,340	$68,539	34%
27	MissouriState	1.07	$59,960	$67,675	21%
28	LouisianaState	1.05	$60,080	$66,681	21%
29	WyomingState	1.05	$61,910	$66,570	19%
30	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$77,160	$66,232	35%
31	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$63,570	$66,081	29%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$60,470	$65,728	26%
33	IdahoState	1.02	$62,190	$64,446	23%
34	IllinoisState	1.02	$63,060	$64,743	25%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$60,260	$64,935	26%
36	NebraskaState	1.01	$58,600	$64,044	21%
37	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$62,100	$64,021	25%
38	ArizonaState	0.99	$63,510	$62,944	28%
39	KansasState	0.99	$56,630	$62,922	22%
40	KentuckyState	0.99	$55,460	$62,667	21%
41	TennesseeState	0.99	$57,580	$62,929	26%
42	TexasState	0.99	$59,990	$62,751	28%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$61,060	$63,079	32%
44	ArkansasState	0.98	$53,870	$62,422	20%
45	GeorgiaState	0.98	$57,810	$61,895	29%
46	AlaskaState	0.97	$63,880	$61,246	26%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$63,860	$61,700	30%
48	OregonState	0.96	$62,790	$60,961	30%
49	IowaState	0.95	$53,830	$60,348	21%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$59,620	$60,528	35%
51	IndianaState	0.94	$53,910	$59,569	23%
52	UtahState	0.94	$59,910	$59,790	30%
53	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$63,080	$59,622	32%
54	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$64,060	$59,425	34%
55	FloridaState	0.92	$59,500	$58,621	35%
56	MarylandState	0.92	$63,750	$58,379	32%
57	DelawareState	0.89	$56,800	$56,238	29%
58	MaineState	0.89	$56,470	$56,583	28%
59	MontanaState	0.89	$54,460	$56,494	25%
60	VirginiaState	0.89	$58,200	$56,232	32%
61	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$60,950	$56,175	40%
62	MinnesotaState	0.87	$53,920	$55,020	28%
63	VermontState	0.87	$56,520	$55,141	30%
64	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.87	$53,100	$55,428	34%
65	North CarolinaState	0.83	$49,470	$52,405	32%
66	South CarolinaState	0.81	$47,200	$51,304	32%
67	MississippiState	0.75	$40,600	$47,877	26%
68	HawaiiState	0.73	$50,720	$46,109	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).