Best Cities for Food Service Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where food service managerss 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	WashingtonState	1.28	$95,190	$88,714	24%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$98,800	$86,439	27%
3	MassachusettsState	1.23	$92,240	$85,014	29%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$82,850	$82,438	22%
5	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.18	$92,650	$81,630	33%
6	MinnesotaState	1.17	$79,820	$81,449	19%
7	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.17	$75,350	$81,196	20%
8	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.17	$80,180	$81,401	26%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$79,820	$80,221	22%
10	HawaiiState	1.15	$87,800	$79,818	33%
11	KentuckyState	1.15	$70,410	$79,559	16%
12	IndianaState	1.14	$71,430	$78,928	18%
13	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.14	$75,460	$78,768	24%
14	AlaskaState	1.13	$82,030	$78,648	20%
15	KansasState	1.13	$70,320	$78,133	18%
16	North CarolinaState	1.13	$74,080	$78,475	21%
17	North DakotaState	1.12	$72,210	$77,981	16%
18	VermontState	1.10	$77,910	$76,010	22%
19	ColoradoState	1.09	$79,870	$75,778	28%
20	IowaState	1.08	$66,700	$74,776	17%
21	MontanaState	1.08	$72,140	$74,834	19%
22	New YorkState	1.08	$84,200	$74,844	26%
23	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.08	$81,170	$74,811	30%
24	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$89,900	$74,792	42%
25	MissouriState	1.07	$65,520	$73,950	19%
26	DelawareState	1.06	$74,430	$73,693	22%
27	IdahoState	1.05	$70,140	$72,684	20%
28	New HampshireState	1.05	$77,360	$72,981	25%
29	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$69,860	$72,620	27%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$75,070	$72,531	26%
31	AlabamaState	1.04	$63,010	$72,342	18%
32	ConnecticutState	1.04	$77,990	$72,481	24%
33	OklahomaState	1.04	$63,840	$72,136	18%
34	South CarolinaState	1.04	$66,190	$71,946	23%
35	District of ColumbiaState	1.03	$81,680	$71,461	31%
36	FloridaState	1.03	$72,790	$71,714	28%
37	New JerseyState	1.03	$78,020	$71,710	28%
38	CaliforniaState	1.02	$78,260	$70,696	35%
39	MaineState	1.02	$70,510	$70,651	22%
40	New MexicoState	1.02	$65,210	$70,880	19%
41	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$65,530	$70,843	22%
42	GeorgiaState	1.01	$65,280	$69,893	26%
43	MississippiState	1.01	$59,540	$70,212	18%
44	TennesseeState	1.01	$64,410	$70,393	23%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$67,580	$69,814	29%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.01	$79,290	$70,293	30%
47	ArizonaState	1.00	$70,180	$69,554	26%
48	OhioState	1.00	$62,980	$69,668	20%
49	UtahState	1.00	$69,480	$69,341	26%
50	VirginiaState	0.99	$71,230	$68,821	27%
51	LouisianaState	0.98	$61,400	$68,147	20%
52	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$63,420	$67,829	25%
53	WisconsinState	0.97	$61,810	$66,966	21%
54	WyomingState	0.97	$62,610	$67,323	19%
55	MarylandState	0.96	$72,850	$66,712	28%
56	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$64,750	$66,753	24%
57	South DakotaState	0.96	$60,640	$66,784	19%
58	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$61,060	$66,952	24%
59	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$77,850	$66,824	35%
60	IllinoisState	0.95	$63,930	$65,637	25%
61	MichiganState	0.95	$60,790	$65,861	22%
62	NebraskaState	0.95	$60,450	$66,066	21%
63	NevadaState	0.94	$65,320	$65,190	27%
64	West VirginiaState	0.94	$54,800	$65,083	18%
65	ArkansasState	0.92	$55,120	$63,870	19%
66	TexasState	0.92	$60,770	$63,567	27%
67	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$67,320	$63,629	30%
68	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$61,760	$63,539	31%
69	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$58,410	$63,489	27%
70	OregonState	0.87	$62,110	$60,301	31%
71	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.85	$63,840	$59,221	34%

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