Best Cities for Desktop Publisherss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where desktop publisherss 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	ColoradoState	1.33	$77,750	$73,767	28%
2	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.29	$80,960	$71,330	38%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.27	$68,060	$70,021	28%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.27	$82,010	$70,395	33%
5	South CarolinaState	1.23	$62,320	$67,739	24%
6	CaliforniaState	1.18	$71,930	$64,977	38%
7	MarylandState	1.16	$69,820	$63,938	29%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.16	$72,590	$64,353	33%
9	IllinoisState	1.14	$61,350	$62,988	26%
10	TexasState	1.09	$57,760	$60,418	29%
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.08	$63,030	$59,575	32%
12	OhioState	1.07	$53,380	$59,049	23%
13	New JerseyState	1.05	$63,020	$57,923	34%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$57,310	$57,598	31%
15	MassachusettsState	1.02	$61,170	$56,378	44%
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$61,020	$56,605	35%
17	MinnesotaState	1.01	$54,930	$56,051	28%
18	IndianaState	0.98	$49,070	$54,221	26%
19	LouisianaState	0.95	$47,130	$52,309	27%
20	FloridaState	0.94	$52,720	$51,941	39%
21	KentuckyState	0.94	$45,760	$51,706	25%
22	OklahomaState	0.94	$46,040	$52,023	25%
23	VermontState	0.94	$53,550	$52,244	32%
24	ArizonaState	0.93	$52,000	$51,536	35%
25	New YorkState	0.91	$56,660	$50,364	39%
26	WisconsinState	0.90	$46,010	$49,848	28%
27	MichiganState	0.89	$45,300	$49,079	30%
28	OregonState	0.89	$50,650	$49,175	38%
29	TennesseeState	0.88	$44,440	$48,568	34%
30	MaineState	0.85	$47,100	$47,194	33%
31	North CarolinaState	0.84	$43,700	$46,292	36%
32	New HampshireState	0.82	$48,300	$45,566	39%
33	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.80	$42,730	$44,143	45%
34	GeorgiaState	0.76	$39,460	$42,248	43%
35	NebraskaState	0.72	$36,280	$39,650	35%

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