Best Cities for General and Operations Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where general and operations 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	New JerseyState	1.51	$173,690	$159,642	12%
2	South DakotaState	1.43	$137,400	$151,322	8%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.39	$168,000	$146,982	15%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.31	$156,460	$138,706	15%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$163,860	$136,323	23%
6	DelawareState	1.28	$137,220	$135,861	12%
7	WisconsinState	1.22	$118,730	$128,635	11%
8	AlabamaState	1.21	$111,790	$128,347	10%
9	ConnecticutState	1.21	$137,220	$127,528	14%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.21	$146,030	$127,760	18%
11	MississippiState	1.19	$106,680	$125,802	10%
12	ColoradoState	1.18	$131,840	$125,085	17%
13	WashingtonState	1.18	$133,750	$124,651	17%
14	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.18	$119,990	$124,730	16%
15	IndianaState	1.13	$108,170	$119,525	12%
16	VirginiaState	1.12	$122,080	$117,952	15%
17	MassachusettsState	1.11	$127,220	$117,253	21%
18	New HampshireState	1.11	$124,680	$117,623	15%
19	TennesseeState	1.11	$106,970	$116,907	14%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$133,800	$117,885	23%
21	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.11	$112,730	$117,672	16%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.11	$121,630	$117,517	16%
23	New YorkState	1.10	$130,860	$116,320	17%
24	Rhode IslandState	1.10	$117,380	$116,796	15%
25	South CarolinaState	1.09	$106,080	$115,304	14%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$111,410	$115,093	17%
27	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.08	$111,010	$114,208	17%
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$104,010	$114,046	14%
29	LouisianaState	1.07	$101,790	$112,974	12%
30	AlaskaState	1.06	$116,630	$111,822	14%
31	CaliforniaState	1.06	$124,390	$112,367	22%
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$121,050	$112,291	18%
33	GeorgiaState	1.05	$103,730	$111,060	16%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$117,040	$110,624	17%
35	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$102,590	$109,722	15%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$100,840	$109,016	14%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$99,790	$108,467	16%
38	MarylandState	1.02	$117,930	$107,995	17%
39	MichiganState	1.02	$99,530	$107,833	13%
40	North CarolinaState	1.02	$101,950	$107,998	15%
41	OhioState	1.02	$97,700	$108,075	13%
42	TexasState	1.02	$103,230	$107,981	16%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$125,830	$108,009	22%
44	IllinoisState	1.01	$103,570	$106,335	15%
45	New MexicoState	1.01	$98,630	$107,207	13%
46	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$103,130	$106,320	15%
47	WyomingState	1.01	$99,700	$107,204	12%
48	North DakotaState	1.00	$98,170	$106,015	12%
49	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$103,670	$105,249	20%
50	KansasState	0.98	$92,840	$103,156	13%
51	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$103,570	$104,090	17%
52	OklahomaState	0.97	$90,430	$102,181	13%
53	MinnesotaState	0.96	$99,340	$101,367	15%
54	FloridaState	0.95	$101,580	$100,079	20%
55	OregonState	0.95	$103,490	$100,476	18%
56	MaineState	0.94	$98,860	$99,058	16%
57	NevadaState	0.94	$99,390	$99,192	18%
58	HawaiiState	0.93	$108,180	$98,345	26%
59	IowaState	0.93	$87,690	$98,307	13%
60	West VirginiaState	0.93	$82,500	$97,981	12%
61	UtahState	0.92	$97,850	$97,655	18%
62	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.92	$90,490	$97,511	17%
63	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$105,640	$97,364	23%
64	VermontState	0.91	$98,640	$96,234	17%
65	MontanaState	0.90	$91,380	$94,793	15%
66	ArizonaState	0.89	$94,800	$93,954	19%
67	NebraskaState	0.88	$85,090	$92,995	15%
68	KentuckyState	0.85	$79,370	$89,684	14%
69	MissouriState	0.85	$79,300	$89,503	16%
70	ArkansasState	0.81	$74,050	$85,805	14%
71	IdahoState	0.79	$80,390	$83,306	18%

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