Best Cities for Foresterss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where foresterss 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	CaliforniaState	1.27	$107,120	$96,766	25%
2	South CarolinaState	1.23	$86,780	$94,326	17%
3	IowaState	1.22	$83,000	$93,049	14%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.21	$107,690	$92,438	25%
5	AlabamaState	1.20	$79,530	$91,309	14%
6	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.11	$82,310	$84,681	23%
7	IllinoisState	1.10	$82,160	$84,353	19%
8	MississippiState	1.10	$71,280	$84,057	15%
9	TexasState	1.10	$80,370	$84,069	21%
10	AlaskaState	1.09	$87,210	$83,615	19%
11	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$89,780	$83,284	24%
12	GeorgiaState	1.08	$76,970	$82,409	22%
13	MassachusettsState	1.08	$89,650	$82,627	30%
14	MichiganState	1.08	$75,920	$82,254	18%
15	North CarolinaState	1.08	$77,870	$82,489	20%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$78,800	$82,255	23%
17	OhioState	1.06	$73,320	$81,106	17%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$78,280	$80,701	20%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$80,600	$81,005	22%
20	ArkansasState	1.05	$69,240	$80,232	15%
21	OregonState	1.04	$81,450	$79,078	23%
22	ConnecticutState	1.03	$84,820	$78,829	22%
23	MarylandState	1.03	$86,100	$78,846	23%
24	TennesseeState	1.03	$71,990	$78,678	21%
25	VermontState	1.03	$80,750	$78,780	21%
26	MinnesotaState	1.02	$76,490	$78,051	20%
27	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$71,340	$76,299	22%
28	New MexicoState	0.99	$69,240	$75,261	18%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$86,070	$75,833	36%
30	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$86,310	$75,512	31%
31	KansasState	0.98	$67,540	$75,044	18%
32	UtahState	0.98	$75,210	$75,060	24%
33	West VirginiaState	0.97	$62,550	$74,287	16%
34	WashingtonState	0.96	$78,460	$73,122	29%
35	WyomingState	0.96	$68,180	$73,312	17%
36	ColoradoState	0.95	$76,400	$72,486	29%
37	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$69,820	$72,578	27%
38	WisconsinState	0.94	$66,010	$71,517	20%
39	MissouriState	0.93	$63,220	$71,354	20%
40	South DakotaState	0.93	$64,460	$70,991	18%
41	MontanaState	0.91	$67,200	$69,710	20%
42	VirginiaState	0.91	$71,990	$69,556	26%
43	IdahoState	0.88	$65,170	$67,534	22%
44	IndianaState	0.88	$61,110	$67,525	21%
45	ArizonaState	0.87	$67,200	$66,601	27%
46	MaineState	0.87	$66,480	$66,613	23%
47	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$64,110	$66,229	30%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.87	$74,710	$66,232	32%
49	District of ColumbiaState	0.86	$74,710	$65,363	34%
50	New YorkState	0.86	$73,710	$65,520	30%
51	KentuckyState	0.84	$56,460	$63,797	20%
52	FloridaState	0.83	$64,130	$63,182	32%
53	New HampshireState	0.80	$65,170	$61,481	29%
54	OklahomaState	0.75	$50,990	$57,616	23%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.74	$59,430	$56,172	34%
56	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.71	$58,820	$54,212	42%
57	NevadaState	0.67	$51,070	$50,968	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).