Best Cities for Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where eligibility interviewers, government programss 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	1.50	$97,900	$81,448	39%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.35	$66,750	$73,191	22%
3	MichiganState	1.34	$66,830	$72,405	20%
4	IowaState	1.27	$61,340	$68,767	19%
5	ConnecticutState	1.23	$71,940	$66,859	26%
6	District of ColumbiaState	1.20	$74,080	$64,812	34%
7	MinnesotaState	1.18	$62,820	$64,102	24%
8	Rhode IslandState	1.18	$64,560	$64,239	28%
9	IllinoisState	1.17	$61,840	$63,491	25%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.17	$59,420	$63,551	26%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$63,220	$63,538	28%
12	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.17	$58,530	$63,276	24%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$58,090	$62,597	27%
14	AlabamaState	1.14	$54,040	$62,044	21%
15	WashingtonState	1.14	$66,330	$61,817	34%
16	MontanaState	1.13	$59,180	$61,390	23%
17	PennsylvaniaState	1.12	$59,070	$60,897	26%
18	MassachusettsState	1.10	$64,750	$59,677	42%
19	AlaskaState	1.09	$61,840	$59,291	26%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$67,320	$59,313	46%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$60,960	$58,899	31%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.09	$67,710	$59,239	39%
23	KentuckyState	1.08	$52,020	$58,780	22%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$66,130	$58,626	36%
25	CaliforniaState	1.06	$63,520	$57,380	43%
26	New MexicoState	1.06	$53,000	$57,609	24%
27	South DakotaState	1.06	$52,350	$57,654	22%
28	VermontState	1.05	$58,530	$57,102	29%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$61,020	$56,605	35%
30	ColoradoState	1.03	$58,750	$55,740	38%
31	North DakotaState	1.03	$51,810	$55,950	23%
32	WisconsinState	1.03	$51,480	$55,775	25%
33	KansasState	1.02	$49,650	$55,167	25%
34	NevadaState	1.02	$55,160	$55,050	32%
35	OhioState	1.02	$50,070	$55,387	25%
36	OklahomaState	1.02	$49,090	$55,469	24%
37	IdahoState	1.01	$52,670	$54,580	27%
38	NebraskaState	1.01	$50,320	$54,995	25%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$63,520	$54,524	43%
40	New HampshireState	1.00	$57,300	$54,057	33%
41	OregonState	1.00	$55,660	$54,039	34%
42	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$57,160	$54,026	35%
43	LouisianaState	0.99	$48,260	$53,563	26%
44	TennesseeState	0.99	$49,230	$53,803	31%
45	ArkansasState	0.97	$45,340	$52,538	23%
46	MarylandState	0.97	$57,160	$52,344	35%
47	UtahState	0.97	$52,790	$52,685	34%
48	West VirginiaState	0.97	$44,150	$52,435	23%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$50,500	$51,955	38%
50	MaineState	0.94	$50,860	$50,962	31%
51	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$48,630	$50,762	37%
52	North CarolinaState	0.93	$47,350	$50,159	33%
53	HawaiiState	0.92	$54,970	$49,973	52%
54	VirginiaState	0.91	$50,960	$49,237	37%
55	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$47,530	$49,101	41%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$45,620	$49,587	34%
57	TexasState	0.90	$46,860	$49,017	35%
58	MissouriState	0.89	$42,850	$48,363	29%
59	GeorgiaState	0.88	$44,620	$47,773	38%
60	New YorkState	0.88	$53,430	$47,493	42%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.88	$46,100	$47,921	41%
62	New JerseyState	0.87	$51,380	$47,224	42%
63	IndianaState	0.82	$40,160	$44,376	31%
64	MississippiState	0.80	$36,840	$43,443	29%
65	DelawareState	0.78	$42,900	$42,475	38%
66	South CarolinaState	0.78	$38,670	$42,033	39%
67	ArizonaState	0.76	$41,690	$41,318	43%
68	FloridaState	0.68	$37,230	$36,680	55%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.68	$36,280	$36,832	57%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.63	$37,230	$34,313	66%

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