Best Cities for Financial Clerks, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where financial clerks, all others 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	OklahomaState	1.23	$58,720	$66,350	20%
2	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.23	$63,640	$66,430	28%
3	ArkansasState	1.22	$56,600	$65,585	19%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.20	$73,030	$64,743	33%
5	MinnesotaState	1.15	$60,580	$61,816	25%
6	North CarolinaState	1.15	$58,290	$61,748	27%
7	North DakotaState	1.14	$56,680	$61,210	21%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$60,580	$60,884	29%
9	ArizonaState	1.12	$60,720	$60,178	30%
10	DelawareState	1.11	$60,340	$59,743	27%
11	MaineState	1.10	$59,160	$59,279	26%
12	MissouriState	1.10	$52,400	$59,142	24%
13	VirginiaState	1.10	$61,040	$58,976	31%
14	IllinoisState	1.09	$56,980	$58,501	28%
15	KentuckyState	1.09	$51,860	$58,599	22%
16	IowaState	1.08	$51,770	$58,038	22%
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.08	$56,130	$57,986	35%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.07	$58,040	$57,751	31%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.07	$53,200	$57,826	29%
20	ColoradoState	1.06	$59,990	$56,917	37%
21	IndianaState	1.06	$51,850	$57,293	24%
22	TexasState	1.05	$53,830	$56,308	31%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$52,480	$56,735	27%
24	GeorgiaState	1.04	$52,240	$55,931	33%
25	MassachusettsState	1.04	$60,530	$55,788	45%
26	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$58,010	$56,048	33%
27	WisconsinState	1.03	$51,030	$55,287	26%
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$54,080	$55,638	35%
29	New YorkState	1.02	$61,500	$54,667	36%
30	WashingtonState	1.02	$58,970	$54,958	39%
31	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$51,000	$54,957	30%
32	South CarolinaState	1.01	$49,780	$54,109	30%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$57,000	$53,875	35%
34	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$61,010	$53,753	50%
35	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$53,120	$53,929	39%
36	IdahoState	0.99	$51,310	$53,171	28%
37	New JerseyState	0.99	$57,920	$53,235	37%
38	OhioState	0.99	$48,120	$53,230	26%
39	OregonState	0.99	$54,700	$53,107	35%
40	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$51,650	$53,247	30%
41	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$61,120	$53,473	43%
42	AlaskaState	0.98	$55,300	$53,020	30%
43	CaliforniaState	0.97	$58,100	$52,484	47%
44	KansasState	0.97	$46,900	$52,111	26%
45	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$60,780	$52,172	45%
46	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$56,230	$52,161	38%
47	TennesseeState	0.96	$47,060	$51,432	32%
48	Columbus, OHMetro	0.96	$48,120	$51,465	32%
49	LouisianaState	0.95	$46,270	$51,354	27%
50	NebraskaState	0.95	$46,810	$51,158	27%
51	FloridaState	0.94	$51,570	$50,808	40%
52	NevadaState	0.93	$50,200	$50,100	35%
53	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$48,410	$50,322	39%
54	West VirginiaState	0.92	$41,550	$49,347	24%
55	New HampshireState	0.90	$51,480	$48,566	37%
56	UtahState	0.90	$48,580	$48,483	37%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$52,680	$48,553	46%
58	ConnecticutState	0.89	$51,830	$48,169	36%
59	MarylandState	0.89	$52,370	$47,958	38%
60	VermontState	0.80	$44,280	$43,200	39%
61	HawaiiState	0.79	$46,560	$42,327	61%
62	MississippiState	0.70	$31,750	$37,441	34%

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