Best Cities for Food Scientists and Technologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food scientists and technologistss 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	MissouriState	1.35	$105,930	$119,560	12%
2	South CarolinaState	1.33	$108,660	$118,109	14%
3	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.28	$105,350	$113,524	15%
4	AlabamaState	1.26	$97,480	$111,917	12%
5	KentuckyState	1.26	$98,710	$111,537	12%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.26	$107,970	$111,539	18%
7	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.20	$98,220	$106,761	16%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$101,760	$102,271	17%
9	MinnesotaState	1.14	$99,280	$101,306	15%
10	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$113,350	$100,488	21%
11	FloridaState	1.12	$101,160	$99,665	20%
12	ArkansasState	1.10	$84,330	$97,717	12%
13	IllinoisState	1.09	$94,340	$96,858	17%
14	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$93,670	$96,368	20%
15	MassachusettsState	1.08	$103,580	$95,465	26%
16	New JerseyState	1.08	$104,340	$95,901	21%
17	OklahomaState	1.08	$84,750	$95,763	14%
18	KansasState	1.07	$85,130	$94,589	15%
19	TexasState	1.07	$90,610	$94,780	18%
20	ColoradoState	1.06	$99,580	$94,478	22%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$96,210	$92,957	20%
22	GeorgiaState	1.04	$86,050	$92,131	20%
23	IowaState	1.04	$82,010	$91,939	14%
24	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$110,810	$92,188	34%
25	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$103,580	$91,260	30%
26	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$87,270	$91,096	21%
27	VirginiaState	1.02	$93,590	$90,425	20%
28	ArizonaState	1.01	$90,450	$89,643	20%
29	MaineState	1.01	$89,480	$89,659	17%
30	TennesseeState	1.01	$81,760	$89,355	18%
31	WisconsinState	1.01	$83,020	$89,946	16%
32	WashingtonState	1.00	$94,990	$88,527	24%
33	Rhode IslandState	0.99	$87,970	$87,532	21%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$93,330	$88,214	22%
35	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$100,000	$87,489	26%
36	New MexicoState	0.97	$79,130	$86,011	16%
37	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$83,380	$85,959	19%
38	CaliforniaState	0.96	$93,950	$84,869	29%
39	MarylandState	0.96	$93,330	$85,467	22%
40	OhioState	0.96	$76,780	$84,934	16%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	0.96	$79,560	$85,091	20%
42	North CarolinaState	0.95	$79,840	$84,576	20%
43	MichiganState	0.94	$76,940	$83,359	17%
44	New YorkState	0.94	$94,070	$83,618	24%
45	NevadaState	0.91	$80,580	$80,419	22%
46	IdahoState	0.90	$77,440	$80,249	19%
47	NebraskaState	0.89	$72,230	$78,940	17%
48	OregonState	0.89	$81,660	$79,282	23%
49	South DakotaState	0.89	$71,330	$78,557	16%
50	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$91,060	$78,163	30%
51	IndianaState	0.86	$69,350	$76,630	18%
52	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.84	$67,790	$74,331	22%
53	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.84	$80,050	$74,258	27%
54	UtahState	0.82	$73,280	$73,134	24%
55	MontanaState	0.61	$52,230	$54,180	26%

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