Best Cities for Drafters, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where drafters, 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.38	$79,960	$87,675	18%
2	MississippiState	1.26	$67,730	$79,870	16%
3	WisconsinState	1.25	$73,040	$79,133	18%
4	LouisianaState	1.20	$68,470	$75,993	18%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.19	$90,850	$75,582	42%
6	KansasState	1.16	$66,040	$73,378	19%
7	MichiganState	1.16	$67,750	$73,402	20%
8	New JerseyState	1.13	$77,840	$71,544	28%
9	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.11	$67,770	$70,447	28%
10	MissouriState	1.10	$61,990	$69,966	20%
11	ArizonaState	1.09	$70,070	$69,445	26%
12	UtahState	1.09	$69,420	$69,281	26%
13	IowaState	1.07	$60,750	$68,105	19%
14	WashingtonState	1.07	$72,800	$67,847	31%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$62,410	$67,252	25%
16	GeorgiaState	1.05	$62,400	$66,809	27%
17	MassachusettsState	1.05	$72,100	$66,452	38%
18	New HampshireState	1.05	$70,710	$66,708	27%
19	South CarolinaState	1.05	$61,250	$66,576	25%
20	CaliforniaState	1.04	$73,390	$66,296	37%
21	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$60,950	$66,250	26%
22	KentuckyState	1.03	$57,930	$65,458	20%
23	MontanaState	1.03	$63,200	$65,560	21%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$74,380	$65,533	41%
25	IndianaState	1.02	$58,600	$64,751	22%
26	MinnesotaState	1.02	$63,220	$64,510	24%
27	VirginiaState	1.02	$67,220	$64,947	28%
28	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$62,500	$64,566	31%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$61,800	$64,509	29%
30	ColoradoState	1.01	$67,320	$63,871	33%
31	NebraskaState	1.01	$58,640	$64,087	21%
32	New YorkState	1.01	$72,190	$64,169	31%
33	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$63,540	$63,859	28%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$72,990	$63,858	36%
35	OhioState	1.00	$57,610	$63,728	22%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$73,840	$63,382	37%
37	North CarolinaState	0.99	$59,500	$63,030	26%
38	TexasState	0.99	$59,990	$62,751	28%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$61,200	$62,963	31%
40	NevadaState	0.98	$62,400	$62,275	28%
41	ConnecticutState	0.97	$66,620	$61,914	28%
42	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$59,970	$60,883	34%
43	Columbus, OHMetro	0.94	$55,630	$59,497	28%
44	FloridaState	0.93	$59,970	$59,084	34%
45	IdahoState	0.92	$56,430	$58,477	25%
46	VermontState	0.92	$59,930	$58,468	29%
47	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.91	$62,610	$58,080	34%
48	OregonState	0.90	$58,790	$57,078	33%
49	OklahomaState	0.89	$49,920	$56,407	23%
50	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.89	$58,810	$56,821	33%
51	ArkansasState	0.88	$48,020	$55,643	22%
52	PennsylvaniaState	0.88	$54,240	$55,918	29%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$60,520	$55,779	40%
54	MaineState	0.87	$55,460	$55,571	28%
55	AlabamaState	0.86	$47,320	$54,328	24%
56	IllinoisState	0.86	$53,300	$54,723	30%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.86	$57,940	$54,764	35%
58	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.83	$59,300	$52,571	40%
59	MarylandState	0.80	$55,640	$50,952	36%

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