Best Cities for Directors, Religious Activities and Educations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where directors, religious activities and educations 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	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.85	$93,120	$96,198	21%
2	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.77	$84,650	$92,011	18%
3	AlabamaState	1.75	$79,310	$91,056	14%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.64	$83,260	$85,658	23%
5	NebraskaState	1.52	$72,500	$79,235	17%
6	TexasState	1.51	$75,420	$78,891	22%
7	GeorgiaState	1.50	$72,910	$78,062	23%
8	IowaState	1.42	$66,140	$74,148	17%
9	TennesseeState	1.30	$61,940	$67,694	24%
10	North CarolinaState	1.29	$63,280	$67,034	25%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.28	$63,650	$66,441	28%
12	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.28	$64,340	$66,881	29%
13	IndianaState	1.24	$58,490	$64,630	22%
14	ColoradoState	1.23	$67,760	$64,288	33%
15	NevadaState	1.20	$62,460	$62,335	28%
16	New JerseyState	1.16	$65,730	$60,414	33%
17	MissouriState	1.15	$52,980	$59,797	23%
18	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.15	$68,040	$59,947	45%
19	KentuckyState	1.13	$52,230	$59,017	22%
20	South DakotaState	1.13	$53,360	$58,767	22%
21	MississippiState	1.12	$49,430	$58,290	22%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$54,130	$58,519	26%
23	MassachusettsState	1.11	$62,930	$58,000	43%
24	PennsylvaniaState	1.10	$55,510	$57,227	28%
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$59,320	$57,314	32%
26	ArizonaState	1.09	$57,140	$56,630	31%
27	UtahState	1.09	$56,790	$56,677	32%
28	VirginiaState	1.09	$59,020	$57,024	32%
29	CaliforniaState	1.07	$61,570	$55,619	44%
30	IllinoisState	1.06	$53,600	$55,031	29%
31	OhioState	1.05	$49,340	$54,580	25%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$49,700	$54,496	29%
33	District of ColumbiaState	1.04	$61,870	$54,129	41%
34	MarylandState	1.03	$58,820	$53,864	34%
35	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$62,390	$53,554	44%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$60,650	$53,768	39%
37	OklahomaState	1.02	$47,100	$53,220	25%
38	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$56,470	$53,374	36%
39	New MexicoState	1.01	$48,240	$52,435	26%
40	WashingtonState	1.01	$56,480	$52,637	40%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$48,470	$51,840	32%
42	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$51,070	$51,327	35%
43	MinnesotaState	0.98	$50,110	$51,133	31%
44	KansasState	0.97	$45,640	$50,711	27%
45	MichiganState	0.95	$45,590	$49,393	29%
46	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.95	$56,480	$49,414	47%
47	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.94	$59,010	$49,093	64%
48	FloridaState	0.93	$49,230	$48,502	42%
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$51,540	$47,502	47%
50	MontanaState	0.90	$45,220	$46,909	30%
51	IdahoState	0.89	$44,990	$46,622	32%
52	Rhode IslandState	0.86	$44,770	$44,547	40%
53	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.86	$41,630	$44,860	37%
54	ConnecticutState	0.85	$47,850	$44,470	39%
55	New YorkState	0.85	$49,990	$44,436	44%
56	OregonState	0.85	$45,360	$44,039	42%
57	WisconsinState	0.84	$40,180	$43,532	32%
58	HawaiiState	0.83	$47,590	$43,264	60%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.82	$46,110	$42,774	47%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$41,460	$42,091	50%
61	ArkansasState	0.75	$33,920	$39,305	31%
62	South CarolinaState	0.75	$36,120	$39,261	42%
63	LouisianaState	0.63	$29,540	$32,786	43%

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