Best Cities for Financial Specialists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where financial specialists, 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.35	$125,110	$109,458	20%
2	MaineState	1.35	$109,060	$109,279	14%
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.32	$120,580	$106,897	20%
4	IndianaState	1.26	$92,410	$102,110	14%
5	West VirginiaState	1.26	$86,200	$102,375	12%
6	AlabamaState	1.23	$87,110	$100,011	13%
7	OhioState	1.23	$90,060	$99,624	14%
8	New YorkState	1.18	$107,490	$95,547	21%
9	South DakotaState	1.17	$86,260	$95,000	13%
10	MarylandState	1.14	$101,400	$92,857	20%
11	MassachusettsState	1.14	$99,970	$92,138	27%
12	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.13	$87,530	$91,367	21%
13	New JerseyState	1.12	$98,630	$90,653	22%
14	VirginiaState	1.11	$92,930	$89,787	20%
15	IowaState	1.10	$79,390	$89,002	14%
16	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$83,160	$88,941	19%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$100,150	$88,238	31%
18	New MexicoState	1.08	$80,610	$87,620	16%
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$79,960	$87,675	18%
20	MississippiState	1.07	$73,920	$87,170	15%
21	OklahomaState	1.07	$76,980	$86,983	15%
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$85,940	$86,372	21%
23	North CarolinaState	1.06	$80,900	$85,699	19%
24	MinnesotaState	1.05	$83,280	$84,980	18%
25	MissouriState	1.05	$75,800	$85,553	16%
26	North DakotaState	1.04	$78,260	$84,514	15%
27	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$81,300	$83,988	24%
28	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$100,950	$83,985	37%
29	IllinoisState	1.03	$81,180	$83,347	19%
30	ColoradoState	1.02	$87,430	$82,951	25%
31	GeorgiaState	1.02	$77,540	$83,019	22%
32	IdahoState	1.02	$79,440	$82,321	18%
33	South CarolinaState	1.02	$76,400	$83,043	20%
34	WyomingState	1.01	$75,810	$81,516	16%
35	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$84,680	$81,816	23%
36	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$88,380	$81,985	24%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$75,000	$81,522	21%
38	MichiganState	1.00	$75,040	$81,300	18%
39	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$78,610	$81,041	20%
40	ArizonaState	0.99	$81,180	$80,456	22%
41	OregonState	0.99	$83,080	$80,660	23%
42	DelawareState	0.98	$80,610	$79,812	20%
43	MontanaState	0.98	$76,350	$79,201	18%
44	New HampshireState	0.97	$83,590	$78,858	23%
45	Rhode IslandState	0.97	$78,990	$78,597	23%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$71,900	$77,478	21%
47	UtahState	0.94	$76,530	$76,377	23%
48	TennesseeState	0.93	$69,240	$75,672	22%
49	WashingtonState	0.93	$80,930	$75,424	28%
50	KentuckyState	0.92	$65,690	$74,226	18%
51	TexasState	0.92	$71,650	$74,948	23%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$72,330	$74,414	26%
53	AlaskaState	0.91	$77,070	$73,893	21%
54	VermontState	0.91	$75,270	$73,434	23%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$77,960	$73,686	26%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$71,280	$74,096	26%
57	CaliforniaState	0.90	$80,810	$72,999	34%
58	NebraskaState	0.89	$66,290	$72,448	19%
59	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$82,920	$72,546	32%
60	ArkansasState	0.87	$60,600	$70,220	17%
61	HawaiiState	0.87	$77,190	$70,173	37%
62	WisconsinState	0.86	$64,420	$69,794	20%
63	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$80,840	$69,391	34%
64	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.84	$62,810	$67,903	23%
65	LouisianaState	0.82	$59,860	$66,437	21%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$61,610	$62,548	34%
67	NevadaState	0.76	$61,930	$61,806	28%
68	FloridaState	0.75	$61,660	$60,749	33%
69	KansasState	0.70	$51,160	$56,844	24%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.69	$60,320	$55,594	41%

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