Best Cities for Financial Examinerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where financial examinerss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.85	$198,720	$173,858	13%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.48	$157,560	$139,681	15%
3	New YorkState	1.22	$128,920	$114,596	17%
4	ConnecticutState	1.19	$120,530	$112,017	16%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.17	$105,240	$109,854	17%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$122,230	$106,938	22%
7	MinnesotaState	1.13	$104,260	$106,388	15%
8	North CarolinaState	1.13	$100,730	$106,706	15%
9	WashingtonState	1.13	$113,700	$105,965	20%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$97,910	$105,849	14%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$104,260	$104,784	17%
12	MassachusettsState	1.09	$111,110	$102,406	24%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$123,750	$102,953	30%
14	MississippiState	1.07	$85,430	$100,743	13%
15	VirginiaState	1.07	$104,060	$100,541	18%
16	New JerseyState	1.04	$106,410	$97,803	20%
17	South DakotaState	1.04	$88,690	$97,676	13%
18	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$103,460	$97,788	19%
19	CaliforniaState	1.02	$106,000	$95,754	26%
20	IllinoisState	1.02	$93,150	$95,637	17%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$89,300	$96,228	17%
22	TennesseeState	1.01	$87,110	$95,202	17%
23	ColoradoState	1.00	$99,610	$94,507	22%
24	MarylandState	1.00	$102,980	$94,304	20%
25	South CarolinaState	1.00	$86,440	$93,957	17%
26	LouisianaState	0.99	$84,310	$93,574	15%
27	Rhode IslandState	0.99	$94,130	$93,662	19%
28	WisconsinState	0.99	$86,320	$93,521	15%
29	OregonState	0.98	$94,630	$91,874	20%
30	UtahState	0.98	$92,000	$91,816	19%
31	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$105,230	$92,714	29%
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$99,820	$92,597	22%
33	DelawareState	0.97	$92,390	$91,475	18%
34	OklahomaState	0.97	$80,760	$91,254	14%
35	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$106,000	$90,987	26%
36	IowaState	0.96	$80,370	$90,101	14%
37	MissouriState	0.96	$79,990	$90,282	16%
38	IndianaState	0.95	$81,300	$89,834	16%
39	KansasState	0.95	$80,420	$89,356	15%
40	North DakotaState	0.95	$82,640	$89,244	14%
41	IdahoState	0.94	$85,260	$88,352	17%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$84,150	$87,474	22%
43	AlaskaState	0.92	$90,530	$86,798	18%
44	KentuckyState	0.92	$76,260	$86,169	15%
45	Columbus, OHMetro	0.92	$81,000	$86,631	19%
46	NevadaState	0.90	$84,650	$84,481	21%
47	MontanaState	0.89	$80,970	$83,994	17%
48	GeorgiaState	0.88	$77,710	$83,201	22%
49	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.88	$75,930	$83,257	19%
50	TexasState	0.87	$78,140	$81,736	21%
51	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.87	$79,980	$82,284	24%
52	MaineState	0.86	$80,840	$81,002	19%
53	NebraskaState	0.86	$74,460	$81,377	17%
54	PennsylvaniaState	0.86	$78,500	$80,928	20%
55	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.85	$77,650	$80,217	25%
56	ArizonaState	0.84	$80,260	$79,544	22%
57	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.84	$73,080	$79,435	21%
58	MichiganState	0.82	$71,050	$76,977	19%
59	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.82	$80,350	$77,633	24%
60	New HampshireState	0.81	$80,810	$76,236	24%
61	OhioState	0.81	$69,040	$76,372	18%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$82,350	$75,899	30%
63	FloridaState	0.80	$76,230	$75,103	27%
64	New MexicoState	0.78	$67,950	$73,859	19%
65	VermontState	0.77	$74,680	$72,859	23%
66	West VirginiaState	0.76	$60,590	$71,960	17%
67	ArkansasState	0.71	$57,590	$66,732	18%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.64	$59,470	$60,376	35%
69	HawaiiState	0.61	$62,720	$57,018	46%

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