Best Cities for Food Batchmakerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food batchmakerss 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	IowaState	1.28	$48,300	$54,148	24%
2	KentuckyState	1.25	$46,900	$52,994	25%
3	WisconsinState	1.24	$48,360	$52,394	27%
4	MissouriState	1.22	$45,690	$51,569	27%
5	IdahoState	1.21	$49,570	$51,368	29%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.20	$47,630	$50,941	33%
7	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.19	$48,780	$50,393	40%
8	GeorgiaState	1.18	$46,490	$49,775	37%
9	IllinoisState	1.17	$48,130	$49,415	33%
10	OhioState	1.17	$44,590	$49,325	28%
11	VermontState	1.16	$50,180	$48,956	34%
12	KansasState	1.13	$42,850	$47,611	29%
13	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.12	$43,550	$47,337	36%
14	TennesseeState	1.10	$42,610	$46,568	35%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$42,850	$46,175	36%
16	ArkansasState	1.07	$38,990	$45,180	27%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$45,020	$45,246	39%
18	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.07	$43,660	$45,385	43%
19	NebraskaState	1.06	$41,210	$45,038	30%
20	IndianaState	1.04	$39,700	$43,867	32%
21	MinnesotaState	1.04	$42,940	$43,816	36%
22	North DakotaState	1.04	$40,840	$44,104	29%
23	MichiganState	1.03	$40,160	$43,510	33%
24	MississippiState	1.02	$36,530	$43,078	29%
25	South DakotaState	1.02	$39,200	$43,172	29%
26	ColoradoState	1.01	$44,900	$42,600	49%
27	AlabamaState	1.00	$36,980	$42,457	31%
28	MaineState	1.00	$42,260	$42,345	37%
29	UtahState	0.98	$41,390	$41,307	43%
30	WyomingState	0.98	$38,430	$41,323	31%
31	MontanaState	0.97	$39,630	$41,110	34%
32	NevadaState	0.97	$41,120	$41,038	42%
33	OklahomaState	0.97	$36,320	$41,040	32%
34	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$39,920	$41,155	39%
35	West VirginiaState	0.97	$34,660	$41,164	29%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$39,260	$40,981	46%
37	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.97	$37,440	$41,053	39%
38	New MexicoState	0.96	$37,390	$40,641	34%
39	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$43,160	$40,794	47%
40	ArizonaState	0.95	$40,550	$40,188	44%
41	South CarolinaState	0.95	$37,070	$40,293	41%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$38,950	$40,072	49%
43	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$37,040	$40,043	38%
44	VirginiaState	0.94	$41,080	$39,691	46%
45	WashingtonState	0.94	$42,710	$39,804	53%
46	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$42,860	$39,759	50%
47	TexasState	0.93	$37,500	$39,226	44%
48	North CarolinaState	0.92	$36,590	$38,761	43%
49	Rhode IslandState	0.92	$39,250	$39,055	46%
50	LouisianaState	0.91	$34,620	$38,424	36%
51	OregonState	0.91	$39,850	$38,689	48%
52	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.90	$45,920	$38,203	82%
53	CaliforniaState	0.89	$41,670	$37,642	65%
54	AlaskaState	0.88	$39,030	$37,421	42%
55	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$42,370	$37,069	62%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$36,500	$37,056	57%
57	DelawareState	0.87	$37,220	$36,851	44%
58	MarylandState	0.87	$40,240	$36,850	50%
59	ConnecticutState	0.86	$39,110	$36,348	48%
60	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.85	$37,010	$35,758	52%
61	New HampshireState	0.84	$37,470	$35,349	51%
62	FloridaState	0.83	$35,500	$34,975	58%
63	New JerseyState	0.83	$38,250	$35,156	56%
64	HawaiiState	0.81	$37,490	$34,082	76%
65	New YorkState	0.81	$38,470	$34,196	58%
66	MassachusettsState	0.80	$36,880	$33,991	73%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.79	$38,930	$33,416	70%
68	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.77	$37,010	$32,608	83%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$35,430	$32,654	69%
70	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.76	$36,400	$32,270	66%

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