Best Cities for Fundraiserss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where fundraiserss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.22	$106,760	$88,819	35%
2	North DakotaState	1.13	$76,040	$82,117	15%
3	LouisianaState	1.10	$72,030	$79,945	17%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$76,490	$79,019	25%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.09	$78,780	$79,176	23%
6	MinnesotaState	1.08	$76,910	$78,480	20%
7	GeorgiaState	1.06	$72,010	$77,099	24%
8	KentuckyState	1.06	$68,270	$77,141	17%
9	WyomingState	1.06	$71,310	$76,677	17%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.06	$81,020	$76,578	25%
11	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$75,410	$75,035	24%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$68,090	$74,660	21%
13	NebraskaState	1.02	$68,030	$74,350	18%
14	IndianaState	1.01	$66,250	$73,204	19%
15	MarylandState	1.01	$79,780	$73,059	25%
16	South DakotaState	1.01	$66,800	$73,568	17%
17	WashingtonState	1.01	$79,000	$73,625	29%
18	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$68,230	$73,524	23%
19	ConnecticutState	1.00	$77,730	$72,240	24%
20	MassachusettsState	1.00	$79,060	$72,866	34%
21	OklahomaState	1.00	$63,950	$72,260	18%
22	CaliforniaState	0.99	$79,710	$72,005	34%
23	IowaState	0.99	$63,930	$71,670	18%
24	KansasState	0.99	$64,820	$72,022	19%
25	MichiganState	0.99	$66,130	$71,647	20%
26	MissouriState	0.99	$63,860	$72,077	19%
27	New YorkState	0.99	$80,540	$71,591	28%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$66,950	$71,604	23%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$74,370	$71,855	26%
30	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$80,610	$71,463	30%
31	New JerseyState	0.98	$77,170	$70,928	28%
32	New MexicoState	0.98	$65,440	$71,130	19%
33	OhioState	0.98	$64,080	$70,885	20%
34	VermontState	0.98	$72,530	$70,761	24%
35	WisconsinState	0.98	$65,880	$71,376	20%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$80,340	$70,784	38%
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$80,920	$70,796	33%
38	ColoradoState	0.97	$74,440	$70,626	30%
39	DelawareState	0.97	$71,250	$70,545	23%
40	District of ColumbiaState	0.97	$80,840	$70,726	31%
41	North CarolinaState	0.97	$66,100	$70,021	24%
42	VirginiaState	0.97	$72,610	$70,155	26%
43	AlabamaState	0.95	$60,120	$69,024	19%
44	IllinoisState	0.94	$66,440	$68,214	24%
45	MississippiState	0.94	$57,610	$67,936	19%
46	NevadaState	0.94	$68,530	$68,393	25%
47	South CarolinaState	0.94	$62,720	$68,174	24%
48	MaineState	0.92	$66,790	$66,924	23%
49	TennesseeState	0.92	$61,370	$67,071	25%
50	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$63,920	$66,722	28%
51	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$77,550	$66,567	35%
52	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$61,990	$67,016	23%
53	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$63,730	$65,701	24%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$63,760	$66,279	29%
55	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.91	$71,340	$66,178	30%
56	West VirginiaState	0.90	$54,760	$65,036	18%
57	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$64,270	$65,249	32%
58	ArizonaState	0.88	$64,180	$63,608	28%
59	MontanaState	0.88	$61,280	$63,568	22%
60	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$61,880	$63,663	31%
61	FloridaState	0.87	$64,390	$63,438	32%
62	IdahoState	0.87	$61,150	$63,368	24%
63	TexasState	0.87	$60,320	$63,096	28%
64	New HampshireState	0.86	$66,260	$62,509	29%
65	OregonState	0.86	$64,080	$62,214	30%
66	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$57,470	$62,467	27%
67	UtahState	0.85	$61,820	$61,697	29%
68	AlaskaState	0.83	$62,750	$60,163	26%
69	ArkansasState	0.80	$50,190	$58,158	21%
70	HawaiiState	0.80	$63,750	$57,955	45%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$63,330	$58,369	39%

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