Best Cities for Emergency Management Directorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where emergency management directorss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.73	$184,350	$161,286	14%
2	New MexicoState	1.70	$145,550	$158,207	9%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.55	$173,540	$144,376	22%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.55	$163,220	$144,699	15%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.46	$155,320	$135,888	17%
6	ColoradoState	1.32	$129,660	$123,017	17%
7	WashingtonState	1.31	$130,780	$121,883	17%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.28	$109,140	$119,671	13%
9	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.28	$130,020	$119,834	19%
10	CaliforniaState	1.26	$129,910	$117,353	21%
11	MassachusettsState	1.22	$123,250	$113,594	22%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.21	$111,950	$112,513	16%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.20	$130,020	$111,605	21%
14	New JerseyState	1.19	$120,990	$111,204	18%
15	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.19	$126,570	$111,515	24%
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$119,870	$111,197	18%
17	MinnesotaState	1.17	$106,880	$109,061	14%
18	LouisianaState	1.15	$96,550	$107,159	13%
19	OregonState	1.15	$110,720	$107,495	17%
20	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.15	$103,830	$107,262	19%
21	ConnecticutState	1.13	$113,380	$105,372	17%
22	NevadaState	1.13	$105,570	$105,359	17%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.13	$101,300	$105,741	18%
24	OhioState	1.12	$94,690	$104,746	13%
25	IdahoState	1.11	$99,720	$103,337	14%
26	South CarolinaState	1.09	$93,680	$101,826	16%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$93,260	$100,496	17%
28	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.08	$98,830	$100,335	21%
29	North CarolinaState	1.07	$93,840	$99,407	17%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$105,230	$99,461	19%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$96,650	$99,434	20%
32	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$103,120	$99,633	19%
33	AlaskaState	1.05	$101,850	$97,651	16%
34	FloridaState	1.05	$99,020	$97,557	21%
35	MarylandState	1.05	$107,200	$98,168	19%
36	NebraskaState	1.05	$89,740	$98,077	14%
37	TexasState	1.05	$93,570	$97,877	18%
38	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$93,260	$96,944	20%
39	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$90,170	$97,481	16%
40	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$89,200	$96,957	18%
41	VirginiaState	1.03	$99,860	$96,483	19%
42	MichiganState	1.02	$87,880	$95,211	15%
43	TennesseeState	0.96	$81,800	$89,399	18%
44	GeorgiaState	0.95	$83,200	$89,079	20%
45	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$87,690	$87,254	21%
46	IllinoisState	0.92	$83,820	$86,057	19%
47	MissouriState	0.91	$75,660	$85,395	16%
48	UtahState	0.91	$84,860	$84,691	21%
49	KentuckyState	0.90	$74,730	$84,441	15%
50	MaineState	0.90	$84,050	$84,218	18%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.90	$81,550	$84,072	19%
52	WisconsinState	0.90	$77,260	$83,705	17%
53	IowaState	0.89	$73,700	$82,623	16%
54	North DakotaState	0.89	$76,640	$82,765	15%
55	New YorkState	0.88	$92,570	$82,284	24%
56	ArizonaState	0.87	$81,970	$81,239	22%
57	KansasState	0.81	$68,000	$75,556	18%
58	South DakotaState	0.79	$67,180	$73,987	17%
59	New HampshireState	0.78	$77,420	$73,038	25%
60	West VirginiaState	0.77	$60,460	$71,805	17%
61	OklahomaState	0.74	$60,990	$68,915	19%
62	WyomingState	0.74	$64,370	$69,215	18%
63	HawaiiState	0.72	$74,290	$67,536	39%
64	MontanaState	0.70	$62,770	$65,114	22%
65	ArkansasState	0.62	$50,180	$58,146	21%
66	MississippiState	0.61	$48,650	$57,370	22%

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