Best Cities for Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shops

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shops 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	HawaiiState	1.37	$47,070	$42,791	61%
2	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.29	$43,410	$40,269	50%
3	OregonState	1.27	$40,720	$39,534	47%
4	MaineState	1.18	$36,800	$36,874	42%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.13	$42,400	$35,275	89%
6	ColoradoState	1.11	$36,340	$34,478	61%
7	WashingtonState	1.11	$37,270	$34,734	61%
8	ArizonaState	1.10	$34,740	$34,430	52%
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$38,430	$33,622	69%
10	South DakotaState	1.07	$30,310	$33,381	38%
11	CaliforniaState	1.06	$36,640	$33,098	74%
12	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$37,570	$32,870	67%
13	MissouriState	1.05	$29,130	$32,878	43%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$30,260	$32,714	47%
15	New YorkState	1.04	$36,490	$32,436	61%
16	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.04	$34,320	$32,439	59%
17	IllinoisState	1.03	$31,200	$32,033	50%
18	MassachusettsState	1.03	$34,960	$32,221	77%
19	New HampshireState	1.03	$33,920	$32,000	56%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$29,290	$32,116	50%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$36,360	$32,234	66%
22	ConnecticutState	1.02	$34,210	$31,794	55%
23	MarylandState	1.02	$34,860	$31,923	58%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$36,920	$31,691	74%
25	IowaState	1.01	$28,210	$31,626	40%
26	MichiganState	1.01	$28,950	$31,365	46%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$29,280	$31,552	53%
28	KansasState	1.00	$28,110	$31,233	44%
29	NebraskaState	1.00	$28,450	$31,093	44%
30	NevadaState	1.00	$31,170	$31,108	56%
31	New JerseyState	1.00	$34,050	$31,296	63%
32	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$31,400	$31,244	58%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$32,220	$31,130	59%
34	ArkansasState	0.99	$26,760	$31,008	39%
35	DelawareState	0.99	$31,200	$30,891	52%
36	MinnesotaState	0.99	$30,200	$30,816	51%
37	New MexicoState	0.99	$28,480	$30,957	44%
38	North DakotaState	0.99	$28,660	$30,950	41%
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$35,140	$30,960	87%
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$29,550	$30,846	61%
41	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$30,600	$30,754	58%
42	KentuckyState	0.98	$27,100	$30,621	42%
43	OhioState	0.98	$27,550	$30,476	46%
44	VermontState	0.97	$31,080	$30,322	55%
45	WisconsinState	0.97	$28,060	$30,401	46%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$29,880	$30,335	69%
47	AlabamaState	0.96	$26,130	$30,000	44%
48	GeorgiaState	0.96	$27,850	$29,818	61%
49	MontanaState	0.96	$28,910	$29,990	47%
50	North CarolinaState	0.96	$28,320	$30,000	55%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$29,170	$30,072	53%
52	TennesseeState	0.96	$27,490	$30,044	55%
53	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$28,800	$29,938	65%
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$27,640	$30,043	57%
55	IndianaState	0.95	$26,920	$29,746	47%
56	UtahState	0.95	$29,610	$29,551	60%
57	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$28,560	$29,504	68%
58	Columbus, OHMetro	0.95	$27,650	$29,572	56%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$28,890	$29,722	66%
60	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$32,280	$29,751	76%
61	FloridaState	0.94	$29,810	$29,369	69%
62	South CarolinaState	0.94	$27,000	$29,348	56%
63	VirginiaState	0.94	$30,490	$29,459	62%
64	AlaskaState	0.93	$30,210	$28,965	54%
65	West VirginiaState	0.93	$24,420	$29,002	41%
66	IdahoState	0.91	$27,280	$28,269	53%
67	TexasState	0.91	$27,080	$28,326	61%
68	OklahomaState	0.90	$24,740	$27,955	47%
69	MississippiState	0.83	$21,990	$25,932	49%
70	LouisianaState	0.78	$22,060	$24,484	57%
71	WyomingState	0.78	$22,660	$24,366	52%

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