Best Cities for Designers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where designers, all others 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	1.65	$129,110	$107,413	29%
2	South CarolinaState	1.41	$83,980	$91,283	18%
3	New HampshireState	1.37	$94,660	$89,302	20%
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.36	$85,280	$88,649	22%
5	IllinoisState	1.22	$77,460	$79,528	20%
6	TennesseeState	1.22	$72,450	$79,180	21%
7	HawaiiState	1.20	$85,700	$77,909	33%
8	New YorkState	1.18	$86,030	$76,471	26%
9	NevadaState	1.16	$75,490	$75,339	23%
10	PennsylvaniaState	1.15	$72,760	$75,010	21%
11	IndianaState	1.13	$66,580	$73,569	19%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$73,290	$73,658	24%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$69,100	$65,312	29%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$70,790	$65,668	30%
15	FloridaState	0.99	$65,510	$64,542	32%
16	GeorgiaState	0.97	$58,560	$62,698	29%
17	LouisianaState	0.97	$57,020	$63,285	22%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$64,970	$62,773	29%
19	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$62,100	$63,046	33%
20	ColoradoState	0.96	$65,630	$62,268	34%
21	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.96	$67,840	$62,525	36%
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.93	$58,560	$60,496	33%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$57,230	$59,739	31%
24	CaliforniaState	0.91	$65,420	$59,097	42%
25	OregonState	0.91	$61,070	$59,291	31%
26	VirginiaState	0.89	$60,000	$57,971	32%
27	MarylandState	0.86	$60,910	$55,778	33%
28	UtahState	0.86	$55,920	$55,808	32%
29	MissouriState	0.84	$48,320	$54,537	26%
30	New JerseyState	0.84	$59,470	$54,660	36%
31	North CarolinaState	0.84	$51,740	$54,809	30%
32	WashingtonState	0.83	$57,510	$53,597	40%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.83	$52,390	$53,899	36%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.83	$61,670	$53,955	43%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.83	$60,910	$53,998	39%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.80	$47,240	$51,798	31%
37	ArkansasState	0.79	$44,470	$51,530	24%
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.78	$58,930	$50,584	46%
39	MontanaState	0.67	$42,000	$43,568	32%
40	TexasState	0.67	$41,590	$43,504	40%
41	OhioState	0.65	$38,430	$42,511	33%
42	Columbus, OHMetro	0.63	$38,430	$41,102	40%

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