Best Cities for Film and Video Editorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where film and video editorss 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	New YorkState	1.22	$103,440	$91,947	21%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.15	$98,830	$86,465	26%
3	AlabamaState	1.13	$74,410	$85,431	15%
4	MassachusettsState	1.13	$92,130	$84,912	29%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$91,750	$81,339	26%
6	CaliforniaState	1.06	$88,490	$79,937	31%
7	ColoradoState	1.06	$84,620	$80,285	26%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$88,910	$78,335	34%
9	ConnecticutState	1.03	$83,550	$77,649	23%
10	New JerseyState	1.01	$82,890	$76,186	26%
11	UtahState	1.01	$76,240	$76,088	23%
12	VirginiaState	1.01	$78,740	$76,077	24%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$79,560	$75,198	25%
14	IllinoisState	0.99	$72,460	$74,394	22%
15	LouisianaState	0.98	$66,870	$74,218	19%
16	MarylandState	0.95	$78,380	$71,777	26%
17	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.95	$83,210	$71,425	33%
18	KentuckyState	0.93	$62,330	$70,429	18%
19	OregonState	0.93	$72,300	$70,194	26%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$63,790	$69,945	23%
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.89	$65,000	$66,872	29%
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$71,990	$66,781	30%
23	MissouriState	0.87	$57,950	$65,406	21%
24	NevadaState	0.87	$65,720	$65,589	27%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.87	$75,420	$65,984	35%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.86	$60,200	$64,871	26%
27	MichiganState	0.85	$59,100	$64,030	23%
28	TexasState	0.85	$61,220	$64,038	27%
29	North CarolinaState	0.84	$60,020	$63,581	26%
30	TennesseeState	0.84	$57,880	$63,257	26%
31	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.84	$58,050	$63,098	27%
32	OhioState	0.83	$56,410	$62,400	22%
33	OklahomaState	0.83	$55,210	$62,384	21%
34	WashingtonState	0.83	$66,870	$62,321	34%
35	VermontState	0.82	$63,080	$61,541	27%
36	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.82	$59,280	$61,622	31%
37	NebraskaState	0.81	$55,810	$60,995	22%
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.80	$59,700	$60,000	30%
39	FloridaState	0.79	$60,430	$59,537	34%
40	MississippiState	0.79	$50,410	$59,446	21%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.78	$54,510	$58,930	26%
42	New HampshireState	0.77	$61,250	$57,783	31%
43	WisconsinState	0.77	$53,430	$57,887	24%
44	West VirginiaState	0.76	$48,440	$57,530	21%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.76	$55,290	$57,118	35%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$61,950	$57,097	39%
47	KansasState	0.75	$50,900	$56,556	24%
48	ArkansasState	0.74	$48,480	$56,176	22%
49	IdahoState	0.74	$54,080	$56,041	27%
50	GeorgiaState	0.73	$51,280	$54,904	33%
51	MinnesotaState	0.72	$53,150	$54,235	29%
52	New MexicoState	0.71	$49,400	$53,696	25%
53	IndianaState	0.69	$46,780	$51,691	27%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.65	$46,740	$48,789	39%
55	ArizonaState	0.60	$45,840	$45,431	39%
56	MontanaState	0.58	$42,520	$44,108	32%
57	South DakotaState	0.57	$39,090	$43,051	29%
58	AlaskaState	0.49	$38,800	$37,200	42%

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