Best Cities for Geographerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where geographerss 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	MissouriState	1.13	$102,040	$115,169	12%
2	MarylandState	1.03	$114,920	$105,238	18%
3	WashingtonState	1.03	$112,260	$104,623	20%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$118,290	$104,867	20%
5	VirginiaState	1.02	$108,020	$104,367	17%
6	CaliforniaState	1.01	$114,460	$103,397	24%
7	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$104,770	$99,026	19%
8	IllinoisState	0.93	$92,640	$95,113	17%
9	TexasState	0.81	$79,170	$82,814	21%

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