Best Cities for Database Architectss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where database architectss 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	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$152,800	$165,189	9%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$197,960	$164,692	19%
3	TexasState	1.14	$151,370	$158,337	11%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.14	$154,770	$159,228	12%
5	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.13	$163,590	$158,058	12%
6	ArizonaState	1.11	$156,100	$154,708	12%
7	VirginiaState	1.11	$160,360	$154,937	12%
8	CaliforniaState	1.10	$170,160	$153,713	16%
9	South DakotaState	1.08	$136,540	$150,374	8%
10	GeorgiaState	1.07	$139,500	$149,358	12%
11	MassachusettsState	1.07	$161,650	$148,986	17%
12	WisconsinState	1.07	$137,810	$149,307	9%
13	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$135,790	$147,598	12%
14	ColoradoState	1.05	$154,560	$146,641	14%
15	DelawareState	1.05	$147,800	$146,337	11%
16	IllinoisState	1.05	$142,500	$146,304	11%
17	IndianaState	1.05	$132,830	$146,773	10%
18	NebraskaState	1.05	$134,320	$146,798	9%
19	OhioState	1.05	$132,910	$147,024	9%
20	KansasState	1.04	$129,990	$144,433	10%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$138,870	$144,958	13%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$135,840	$145,283	11%
23	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$132,040	$144,781	11%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$162,870	$144,388	15%
25	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$139,500	$144,112	14%
26	KentuckyState	1.02	$125,400	$141,695	9%
27	MichiganState	1.02	$131,000	$141,928	10%
28	North CarolinaState	1.02	$134,630	$142,617	12%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.02	$161,650	$142,423	19%
30	South CarolinaState	1.01	$130,000	$141,304	12%
31	IowaState	1.00	$124,040	$139,058	9%
32	NevadaState	1.00	$140,200	$139,920	12%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$140,320	$139,622	13%
34	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$127,590	$137,489	12%
35	FloridaState	0.98	$138,320	$136,276	15%
36	MinnesotaState	0.97	$133,050	$135,765	12%
37	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$134,010	$134,683	13%
38	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$133,290	$135,320	15%
39	ConnecticutState	0.96	$144,460	$134,257	13%
40	MaineState	0.96	$133,120	$133,387	12%
41	OregonState	0.96	$138,250	$134,223	14%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$155,740	$133,682	17%
43	New HampshireState	0.95	$139,990	$132,066	14%
44	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$143,410	$133,033	15%
45	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$150,010	$131,242	17%
46	UtahState	0.94	$131,740	$131,477	14%
47	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$141,170	$130,111	17%
48	New MexicoState	0.92	$117,950	$128,207	11%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$121,730	$126,538	15%
50	IdahoState	0.90	$121,380	$125,782	12%
51	New YorkState	0.90	$141,350	$125,644	16%
52	TennesseeState	0.90	$115,170	$125,869	13%
53	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.90	$132,940	$125,652	15%
54	MissouriState	0.89	$110,570	$124,797	11%
55	OklahomaState	0.89	$110,110	$124,418	11%
56	AlabamaState	0.87	$105,450	$121,068	11%
57	HawaiiState	0.87	$134,040	$121,855	21%
58	MarylandState	0.87	$132,940	$121,740	15%
59	ArkansasState	0.86	$104,070	$120,591	10%
60	WashingtonState	0.86	$128,760	$120,000	18%
61	North DakotaState	0.85	$109,430	$118,175	11%
62	MississippiState	0.83	$98,420	$116,061	11%
63	MontanaState	0.82	$109,990	$114,098	12%
64	New JerseyState	0.80	$120,790	$111,020	18%
65	AlaskaState	0.77	$112,500	$107,862	15%
66	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.66	$105,430	$92,240	25%

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