Best Cities for Fallerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where fallerss 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	South CarolinaState	1.59	$76,350	$82,989	20%
2	OregonState	1.57	$84,490	$82,029	23%
3	IdahoState	1.56	$78,330	$81,171	18%
4	ArkansasState	1.49	$67,060	$77,706	16%
5	WashingtonState	1.38	$77,340	$72,078	29%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.37	$76,940	$71,373	28%
7	LouisianaState	1.32	$62,040	$68,857	20%
8	MississippiState	1.22	$54,110	$63,809	20%
9	MichiganState	1.08	$51,700	$56,013	26%
10	WisconsinState	1.04	$50,010	$54,182	26%
11	CaliforniaState	1.03	$59,590	$53,830	46%
12	MarylandState	1.02	$58,300	$53,388	35%
13	OhioState	1.01	$47,700	$52,765	26%
14	TennesseeState	1.00	$47,560	$51,978	32%
15	North CarolinaState	0.94	$46,080	$48,814	34%
16	VirginiaState	0.90	$48,340	$46,705	39%
17	GeorgiaState	0.81	$39,380	$42,163	43%
18	New YorkState	0.62	$36,190	$32,169	61%
19	IndianaState	0.56	$26,210	$28,961	48%

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