Best Cities for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helperss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helperss 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	HawaiiState	1.37	$51,200	$46,545	56%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.16	$45,120	$39,475	58%
3	MaineState	1.14	$38,560	$38,637	40%
4	WashingtonState	1.14	$41,420	$38,602	55%
5	ArizonaState	1.06	$36,500	$36,174	49%
6	MissouriState	1.06	$31,850	$35,948	39%
7	OregonState	1.05	$36,800	$35,728	52%
8	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$37,540	$35,482	54%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$38,120	$35,362	56%
10	ColoradoState	1.03	$36,790	$34,905	60%
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.02	$41,710	$34,700	90%
12	District of ColumbiaState	1.01	$39,080	$34,191	65%
13	MarylandState	1.00	$37,020	$33,901	54%
14	NebraskaState	0.99	$30,690	$33,541	41%
15	North DakotaState	0.99	$31,010	$33,488	38%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.99	$30,760	$33,728	48%
17	VermontState	0.98	$34,120	$33,288	50%
18	MichiganState	0.97	$30,390	$32,925	44%
19	South DakotaState	0.97	$29,920	$32,952	38%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$37,260	$33,032	64%
21	CaliforniaState	0.96	$36,010	$32,529	75%
22	FloridaState	0.96	$33,280	$32,788	62%
23	MassachusettsState	0.96	$35,380	$32,608	76%
24	New YorkState	0.96	$36,740	$32,658	60%
25	OhioState	0.96	$29,400	$32,522	43%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$30,200	$32,543	51%
27	TennesseeState	0.95	$29,470	$32,208	51%
28	West VirginiaState	0.95	$27,150	$32,245	37%
29	ArkansasState	0.94	$27,670	$32,063	38%
30	ConnecticutState	0.94	$34,540	$32,100	54%
31	IllinoisState	0.94	$31,200	$32,033	50%
32	New MexicoState	0.94	$29,360	$31,913	43%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	0.94	$30,000	$32,086	52%
34	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$34,710	$31,991	70%
35	DelawareState	0.93	$31,880	$31,564	51%
36	IowaState	0.93	$28,210	$31,626	40%
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$31,150	$31,624	66%
38	IndianaState	0.92	$28,320	$31,293	45%
39	New JerseyState	0.92	$34,170	$31,406	63%
40	VirginiaState	0.92	$32,410	$31,314	58%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$32,220	$31,130	59%
42	GeorgiaState	0.91	$28,920	$30,964	59%
43	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$31,200	$31,045	58%
44	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$29,470	$30,762	61%
45	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.91	$28,540	$30,854	50%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$29,470	$30,444	66%
47	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$34,780	$30,643	88%
48	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$35,800	$30,730	76%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.90	$29,520	$30,686	63%
50	OklahomaState	0.89	$26,830	$30,316	43%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.89	$29,310	$30,216	53%
52	KentuckyState	0.88	$26,330	$29,751	44%
53	MinnesotaState	0.88	$29,210	$29,806	53%
54	LouisianaState	0.87	$26,780	$29,723	47%
55	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.87	$29,380	$29,528	60%
56	KansasState	0.86	$26,300	$29,222	47%
57	North CarolinaState	0.86	$27,560	$29,195	57%
58	South CarolinaState	0.86	$26,830	$29,163	56%
59	WisconsinState	0.86	$27,080	$29,339	48%
60	IdahoState	0.85	$27,810	$28,819	52%
61	MontanaState	0.84	$27,510	$28,537	49%
62	NevadaState	0.81	$27,460	$27,405	63%
63	MississippiState	0.80	$23,180	$27,335	46%
64	UtahState	0.79	$27,010	$26,956	66%
65	WyomingState	0.78	$24,600	$26,452	48%
66	AlabamaState	0.76	$22,470	$25,798	51%
67	AlaskaState	0.76	$27,040	$25,925	61%
68	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.75	$23,510	$25,554	67%
69	New HampshireState	0.73	$26,290	$24,802	72%
70	TexasState	0.66	$21,550	$22,542	77%
71	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.64	$21,050	$21,656	90%

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