Best Cities for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workerss 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	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.55	$169,350	$145,365	16%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.53	$171,740	$142,879	22%
3	IllinoisState	1.36	$123,500	$126,797	13%
4	New JerseyState	1.31	$133,210	$122,436	16%
5	WashingtonState	1.29	$129,350	$120,550	18%
6	New YorkState	1.26	$132,520	$117,796	17%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.26	$134,830	$117,962	20%
8	CaliforniaState	1.23	$127,630	$115,294	21%
9	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.19	$120,390	$110,959	20%
10	District of ColumbiaState	1.18	$126,560	$110,726	20%
11	MarylandState	1.18	$120,530	$110,375	17%
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.12	$118,570	$105,115	20%
13	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$101,050	$104,175	15%
14	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.11	$110,060	$104,026	18%
15	UtahState	1.07	$100,380	$100,180	18%
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.05	$105,890	$98,228	20%
17	ColoradoState	1.04	$102,580	$97,324	22%
18	FloridaState	1.04	$98,560	$97,103	21%
19	IndianaState	1.04	$88,310	$97,580	14%
20	OregonState	1.04	$100,260	$97,340	19%
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$94,490	$97,212	20%
22	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$90,640	$97,672	17%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$101,050	$97,633	19%
24	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$95,670	$97,127	22%
25	IdahoState	1.03	$92,630	$95,990	16%
26	OklahomaState	1.03	$85,310	$96,395	14%
27	ArizonaState	1.02	$96,470	$95,610	19%
28	VirginiaState	1.01	$97,780	$94,473	19%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$86,490	$94,836	17%
30	NevadaState	1.00	$93,920	$93,733	19%
31	OhioState	1.00	$84,490	$93,462	15%
32	ConnecticutState	0.98	$98,500	$91,543	19%
33	WisconsinState	0.97	$83,310	$90,260	16%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	0.97	$85,230	$91,155	18%
35	North DakotaState	0.96	$82,880	$89,503	14%
36	AlaskaState	0.95	$92,760	$88,936	18%
37	MassachusettsState	0.95	$96,600	$89,032	28%
38	New HampshireState	0.95	$93,720	$88,415	20%
39	KansasState	0.94	$78,880	$87,644	16%
40	NebraskaState	0.94	$80,810	$88,317	16%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.93	$80,370	$86,886	18%
42	MissouriState	0.92	$75,970	$85,745	16%
43	MontanaState	0.92	$82,820	$85,913	16%
44	WyomingState	0.92	$80,260	$86,301	15%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$79,450	$86,359	20%
46	IowaState	0.91	$76,010	$85,213	15%
47	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$85,170	$84,746	21%
48	TennesseeState	0.91	$77,920	$85,158	19%
49	TexasState	0.91	$81,710	$85,471	20%
50	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.91	$96,740	$85,233	32%
51	AlabamaState	0.90	$73,320	$84,179	16%
52	MichiganState	0.90	$77,550	$84,020	17%
53	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.90	$80,720	$83,909	23%
54	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.88	$81,630	$82,040	22%
55	VermontState	0.87	$83,250	$81,220	21%
56	MinnesotaState	0.86	$78,800	$80,408	19%
57	South DakotaState	0.85	$72,420	$79,758	16%
58	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.84	$76,490	$79,019	25%
59	MaineState	0.80	$74,790	$74,940	21%
60	DelawareState	0.79	$74,670	$73,931	22%
61	ArkansasState	0.77	$61,890	$71,715	17%
62	GeorgiaState	0.77	$67,200	$71,949	25%
63	South CarolinaState	0.76	$65,160	$70,826	23%
64	KentuckyState	0.74	$60,850	$68,757	19%
65	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.74	$65,960	$68,852	27%
66	LouisianaState	0.71	$59,750	$66,315	21%
67	West VirginiaState	0.70	$55,380	$65,772	18%
68	New MexicoState	0.68	$58,430	$63,511	22%
69	North CarolinaState	0.67	$59,560	$63,093	26%
70	MississippiState	0.61	$48,250	$56,899	22%

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