Best Cities for Food Servers, Nonrestaurants

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food servers, nonrestaurants 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	North DakotaState	1.13	$36,910	$39,860	32%
2	New MexicoState	1.10	$35,740	$38,848	35%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$35,170	$38,564	42%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$46,210	$38,444	82%
5	MaineState	1.07	$37,680	$37,756	41%
6	WisconsinState	1.06	$34,670	$37,562	38%
7	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$34,630	$37,438	41%
8	MichiganState	1.05	$34,260	$37,118	39%
9	ColoradoState	1.04	$38,900	$36,907	57%
10	MinnesotaState	1.04	$36,000	$36,735	43%
11	VermontState	1.04	$37,540	$36,624	46%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$36,420	$36,603	49%
13	AlaskaState	1.03	$38,090	$36,520	43%
14	KentuckyState	1.03	$32,200	$36,384	36%
15	IllinoisState	1.02	$35,080	$36,016	45%
16	MissouriState	1.02	$31,840	$35,937	39%
17	NevadaState	1.02	$36,030	$35,958	48%
18	WashingtonState	1.02	$38,870	$36,226	59%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$33,620	$36,228	46%
20	OregonState	1.01	$36,620	$35,553	52%
21	West VirginiaState	1.01	$30,170	$35,831	33%
22	WyomingState	1.01	$33,090	$35,581	36%
23	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$40,640	$35,556	65%
24	CaliforniaState	1.00	$39,010	$35,239	70%
25	IdahoState	1.00	$34,220	$35,461	42%
26	South DakotaState	1.00	$31,980	$35,220	36%
27	ArizonaState	0.99	$35,390	$35,074	51%
28	IndianaState	0.99	$31,840	$35,182	40%
29	New YorkState	0.99	$39,370	$34,996	56%
30	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$33,550	$35,021	54%
31	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$33,830	$35,166	55%
32	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$34,480	$35,005	60%
33	New HampshireState	0.98	$36,710	$34,632	52%
34	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$34,860	$34,687	52%
35	South CarolinaState	0.98	$31,740	$34,500	47%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$33,560	$34,669	58%
37	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$32,250	$34,492	48%
38	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$37,230	$34,536	58%
39	HawaiiState	0.97	$37,920	$34,473	75%
40	NebraskaState	0.97	$31,540	$34,470	40%
41	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$33,300	$34,330	47%
42	MassachusettsState	0.96	$36,750	$33,871	74%
43	VirginiaState	0.96	$35,090	$33,903	54%
44	FloridaState	0.95	$33,930	$33,429	61%
45	GeorgiaState	0.95	$31,530	$33,758	54%
46	IowaState	0.95	$30,110	$33,756	38%
47	MarylandState	0.95	$36,650	$33,562	55%
48	New JerseyState	0.95	$36,390	$33,447	59%
49	OhioState	0.95	$30,440	$33,673	41%
50	TennesseeState	0.95	$30,670	$33,519	49%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$35,710	$33,752	56%
52	AlabamaState	0.94	$29,000	$33,295	40%
53	ConnecticutState	0.94	$35,950	$33,411	52%
54	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$37,920	$33,176	67%
55	MontanaState	0.94	$32,090	$33,288	42%
56	North CarolinaState	0.94	$31,460	$33,326	50%
57	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$37,540	$33,280	64%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$37,330	$32,890	82%
59	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$38,350	$32,918	71%
60	KansasState	0.91	$29,040	$32,267	43%
61	MississippiState	0.91	$27,250	$32,134	39%
62	OklahomaState	0.91	$28,490	$32,192	41%
63	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.91	$31,160	$32,058	61%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$34,950	$32,212	70%
65	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.91	$33,300	$32,174	58%
66	ArkansasState	0.90	$27,600	$31,981	38%
67	DelawareState	0.88	$31,430	$31,119	52%
68	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$28,740	$31,239	54%
69	TexasState	0.87	$29,300	$30,649	57%
70	LouisianaState	0.85	$27,200	$30,189	46%
71	UtahState	0.85	$30,170	$30,110	59%

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