Best Cities for Data Scientistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where data scientistss 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	1.28	$185,080	$153,977	20%
2	WashingtonState	1.27	$163,350	$152,237	14%
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.20	$164,740	$144,129	16%
4	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.15	$132,460	$138,267	14%
5	MinnesotaState	1.09	$128,800	$131,429	12%
6	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$127,750	$131,430	15%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$129,780	$130,432	14%
8	CaliforniaState	1.06	$141,590	$127,904	19%
9	TexasState	1.06	$122,090	$127,709	14%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.06	$134,320	$126,957	15%
11	ArkansasState	1.05	$109,390	$126,756	10%
12	North CarolinaState	1.05	$119,090	$126,155	13%
13	MarylandState	1.04	$136,370	$124,881	15%
14	New JerseyState	1.03	$135,280	$124,338	16%
15	VermontState	1.03	$127,070	$123,971	13%
16	OregonState	1.02	$125,990	$122,320	15%
17	VirginiaState	1.02	$126,430	$122,155	15%
18	MassachusettsState	1.01	$131,750	$121,429	21%
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.00	$129,600	$120,223	17%
20	AlabamaState	0.98	$103,120	$118,393	11%
21	ConnecticutState	0.98	$126,340	$117,416	15%
22	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.98	$127,450	$117,465	19%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$132,040	$116,335	23%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$132,200	$117,199	18%
25	New YorkState	0.96	$130,460	$115,964	17%
26	WisconsinState	0.96	$106,680	$115,580	12%
27	Columbus, OHMetro	0.96	$107,950	$115,455	14%
28	FloridaState	0.95	$115,820	$114,108	18%
29	OhioState	0.94	$102,630	$113,529	12%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$108,940	$112,541	18%
31	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.94	$103,330	$113,300	14%
32	ColoradoState	0.93	$117,400	$111,385	19%
33	GeorgiaState	0.93	$104,340	$111,713	16%
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$129,740	$111,365	21%
35	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$103,290	$112,272	15%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$109,990	$111,665	19%
37	District of ColumbiaState	0.92	$126,490	$110,665	20%
38	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$106,850	$110,155	15%
39	IllinoisState	0.91	$106,560	$109,405	15%
40	KansasState	0.91	$98,130	$109,033	13%
41	MichiganState	0.91	$100,590	$108,982	13%
42	MissouriState	0.91	$97,090	$109,582	13%
43	TennesseeState	0.91	$100,330	$109,650	15%
44	UtahState	0.90	$108,090	$107,874	17%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.90	$99,870	$107,619	15%
46	IowaState	0.89	$95,830	$107,433	12%
47	NebraskaState	0.89	$98,230	$107,355	13%
48	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$103,020	$107,089	18%
49	ArizonaState	0.88	$107,240	$106,283	17%
50	South DakotaState	0.88	$96,150	$105,892	12%
51	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.88	$109,910	$106,193	17%
52	MontanaState	0.87	$100,490	$104,243	13%
53	New MexicoState	0.87	$95,850	$104,185	13%
54	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.87	$96,670	$104,508	15%
55	KentuckyState	0.86	$91,760	$103,684	13%
56	Rhode IslandState	0.85	$102,440	$101,930	18%
57	IndianaState	0.84	$91,470	$101,072	14%
58	West VirginiaState	0.84	$85,090	$101,057	12%
59	South CarolinaState	0.83	$91,990	$99,989	16%
60	NevadaState	0.82	$98,540	$98,343	18%
61	OklahomaState	0.81	$86,310	$97,525	13%
62	New HampshireState	0.79	$100,620	$94,925	19%
63	HawaiiState	0.77	$102,130	$92,845	28%
64	IdahoState	0.77	$89,380	$92,622	16%
65	MaineState	0.76	$90,880	$91,062	17%
66	North DakotaState	0.74	$81,900	$88,445	14%
67	LouisianaState	0.73	$78,760	$87,414	16%
68	MississippiState	0.68	$69,490	$81,946	15%
69	AlaskaState	0.67	$84,110	$80,642	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).