Best Cities for Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managerss 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	NebraskaState	1.35	$111,460	$121,814	11%
2	KansasState	1.27	$102,490	$113,878	12%
3	MontanaState	1.27	$110,250	$114,367	12%
4	MississippiState	1.25	$95,210	$112,276	11%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.20	$103,420	$107,954	17%
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.19	$125,070	$107,356	22%
7	GeorgiaState	1.14	$95,900	$102,677	18%
8	IllinoisState	1.14	$99,440	$102,094	16%
9	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.12	$97,880	$100,700	19%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$91,530	$100,362	16%
11	CaliforniaState	1.10	$109,140	$98,591	25%
12	WashingtonState	1.07	$103,240	$96,216	22%
13	WisconsinState	1.04	$86,320	$93,521	15%
14	IndianaState	1.02	$83,100	$91,823	15%
15	MichiganState	1.00	$82,620	$89,512	16%
16	TexasState	1.00	$85,990	$89,948	19%
17	IowaState	0.97	$77,930	$87,365	15%
18	MissouriState	0.97	$77,650	$87,641	16%
19	FloridaState	0.95	$87,080	$85,793	24%
20	North CarolinaState	0.95	$80,540	$85,318	19%
21	KentuckyState	0.94	$74,640	$84,339	15%
22	IdahoState	0.93	$81,010	$83,948	18%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$86,580	$83,652	22%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$88,840	$82,412	24%
25	New JerseyState	0.88	$86,380	$79,393	25%
26	New YorkState	0.88	$89,370	$79,440	25%
27	OregonState	0.88	$81,560	$79,184	23%
28	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$86,180	$79,429	28%
29	OklahomaState	0.87	$69,050	$78,023	17%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.87	$76,040	$78,392	20%
31	West VirginiaState	0.83	$62,740	$74,513	16%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$79,040	$74,707	25%
33	ArkansasState	0.82	$63,920	$74,067	16%
34	OhioState	0.81	$65,990	$72,998	19%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.79	$80,550	$71,410	30%
36	MinnesotaState	0.75	$65,900	$67,245	23%
37	VirginiaState	0.72	$66,780	$64,522	28%
38	HawaiiState	0.70	$68,750	$62,500	42%
39	MarylandState	0.69	$67,600	$61,905	30%

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