Best Cities for Editorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where editorss 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	1.26	$117,580	$97,820	32%
2	New YorkState	1.16	$101,480	$90,204	22%
3	CaliforniaState	1.14	$98,030	$88,555	28%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.10	$100,050	$85,880	27%
5	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$77,810	$83,219	20%
6	GeorgiaState	1.05	$76,650	$82,066	22%
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$77,730	$81,138	23%
8	ConnecticutState	1.03	$85,950	$79,879	22%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$77,680	$80,248	25%
10	OhioState	1.02	$72,160	$79,823	17%
11	IllinoisState	1.00	$76,060	$78,090	21%
12	North CarolinaState	1.00	$73,740	$78,114	21%
13	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$77,960	$77,572	23%
14	VirginiaState	1.00	$80,590	$77,865	23%
15	MassachusettsState	0.98	$83,170	$76,654	33%
16	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$86,410	$76,132	35%
17	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$79,730	$75,359	25%
18	New JerseyState	0.96	$81,680	$75,074	26%
19	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$73,330	$74,447	28%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$84,800	$75,177	28%
21	ColoradoState	0.95	$77,870	$73,880	28%
22	DelawareState	0.95	$75,020	$74,277	22%
23	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$83,920	$73,421	30%
24	FloridaState	0.94	$73,950	$72,857	28%
25	AlabamaState	0.93	$63,330	$72,710	18%
26	NevadaState	0.93	$72,510	$72,365	24%
27	WashingtonState	0.93	$77,850	$72,554	29%
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$65,740	$72,083	22%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$74,530	$72,010	26%
30	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$76,720	$70,710	32%
31	New MexicoState	0.90	$64,250	$69,837	20%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.90	$65,180	$70,237	24%
33	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$75,430	$69,972	29%
34	MarylandState	0.89	$75,550	$69,185	27%
35	MissouriState	0.89	$61,620	$69,549	20%
36	OregonState	0.89	$71,540	$69,456	27%
37	WisconsinState	0.89	$64,270	$69,632	20%
38	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$79,660	$69,694	33%
39	KansasState	0.88	$61,920	$68,800	20%
40	MichiganState	0.88	$63,090	$68,353	21%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.87	$62,710	$67,795	23%
42	KentuckyState	0.86	$59,430	$67,153	19%
43	South CarolinaState	0.86	$62,000	$67,391	24%
44	West VirginiaState	0.86	$56,630	$67,257	18%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$64,250	$66,788	29%
46	LouisianaState	0.84	$58,860	$65,327	21%
47	North DakotaState	0.84	$60,520	$65,356	19%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.84	$63,460	$65,423	25%
49	TennesseeState	0.84	$59,550	$65,082	25%
50	VermontState	0.84	$66,860	$65,229	26%
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.84	$60,230	$65,467	26%
52	UtahState	0.83	$65,040	$64,910	28%
53	IowaState	0.82	$57,200	$64,126	20%
54	MinnesotaState	0.82	$62,650	$63,929	25%
55	MississippiState	0.82	$54,380	$64,127	20%
56	MontanaState	0.82	$61,750	$64,056	22%
57	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.82	$63,430	$63,749	28%
58	New HampshireState	0.81	$66,510	$62,745	29%
59	ArizonaState	0.80	$63,090	$62,527	28%
60	IndianaState	0.80	$56,440	$62,365	22%
61	South DakotaState	0.80	$56,730	$62,478	20%
62	AlaskaState	0.78	$63,630	$61,007	26%
63	ArkansasState	0.75	$50,180	$58,146	21%
64	OklahomaState	0.74	$50,780	$57,379	23%
65	MaineState	0.65	$50,180	$50,281	31%
66	NebraskaState	0.65	$46,320	$50,623	27%
67	HawaiiState	0.64	$55,070	$50,064	52%
68	WyomingState	0.64	$46,710	$50,226	25%
69	TexasState	0.62	$45,950	$48,065	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).