Best Cities for Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gamblings

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where entertainment and recreation managers, except gamblings 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	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.56	$123,780	$124,402	14%
2	MinnesotaState	1.38	$107,660	$109,857	14%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.25	$113,930	$99,676	22%
4	IdahoState	1.24	$95,020	$98,466	15%
5	WyomingState	1.20	$88,790	$95,473	13%
6	MissouriState	1.19	$83,620	$94,379	15%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.18	$106,830	$93,465	25%
8	ColoradoState	1.16	$97,000	$92,030	23%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.15	$88,410	$91,333	22%
10	KentuckyState	1.14	$80,130	$90,542	14%
11	VermontState	1.13	$92,320	$90,068	19%
12	WashingtonState	1.13	$96,790	$90,205	24%
13	GeorgiaState	1.12	$83,470	$89,368	20%
14	OklahomaState	1.11	$78,420	$88,610	15%
15	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$88,750	$88,308	20%
16	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.11	$96,110	$88,581	25%
17	New YorkState	1.10	$98,390	$87,458	23%
18	South CarolinaState	1.08	$79,110	$85,989	19%
19	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$81,450	$85,021	22%
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$81,570	$83,920	23%
21	South DakotaState	1.05	$76,000	$83,700	15%
22	WisconsinState	1.05	$77,140	$83,575	17%
23	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$94,220	$83,528	25%
24	MaineState	1.04	$82,780	$82,946	19%
25	MassachusettsState	1.04	$89,450	$82,442	30%
26	New JerseyState	1.04	$89,590	$82,344	24%
27	North CarolinaState	1.04	$77,990	$82,617	20%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$94,290	$83,075	33%
29	FloridaState	1.03	$83,520	$82,286	25%
30	NevadaState	1.03	$82,370	$82,206	21%
31	TexasState	1.03	$78,500	$82,113	21%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$74,030	$81,173	20%
33	IllinoisState	1.00	$77,310	$79,374	20%
34	MississippiState	1.00	$67,670	$79,800	16%
35	UtahState	1.00	$79,400	$79,242	23%
36	KansasState	0.98	$69,990	$77,767	18%
37	TennesseeState	0.97	$70,530	$77,082	21%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$71,010	$76,768	20%
39	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$75,860	$77,015	27%
40	AlabamaState	0.96	$66,540	$76,395	17%
41	IowaState	0.96	$68,320	$76,592	17%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$78,670	$76,010	24%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$82,610	$76,633	26%
44	ArizonaState	0.95	$76,550	$75,867	23%
45	New HampshireState	0.95	$80,090	$75,557	24%
46	OregonState	0.95	$78,200	$75,922	24%
47	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$69,990	$75,420	22%
48	MarylandState	0.94	$81,220	$74,377	25%
49	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$68,540	$74,500	23%
50	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.94	$90,060	$74,925	42%
51	HawaiiState	0.93	$81,160	$73,782	35%
52	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$70,570	$73,358	26%
53	ConnecticutState	0.91	$78,010	$72,500	24%
54	VirginiaState	0.91	$74,800	$72,271	25%
55	CaliforniaState	0.90	$79,550	$71,861	34%
56	MichiganState	0.90	$65,890	$71,387	20%
57	PennsylvaniaState	0.89	$68,990	$71,124	23%
58	IndianaState	0.87	$62,760	$69,348	20%
59	LouisianaState	0.87	$62,390	$69,245	20%
60	NebraskaState	0.87	$63,270	$69,148	20%
61	AlaskaState	0.85	$70,700	$67,785	23%
62	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$78,200	$67,124	35%
63	OhioState	0.81	$58,440	$64,646	21%
64	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.79	$66,750	$63,091	30%
65	Columbus, OHMetro	0.78	$57,890	$61,914	27%
66	ArkansasState	0.72	$49,640	$57,520	21%
67	West VirginiaState	0.71	$47,310	$56,188	21%

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