Best Cities for Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeepings

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeepings 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	KentuckyState	1.13	$50,400	$56,949	23%
2	North DakotaState	1.13	$53,000	$57,235	22%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$56,670	$56,955	31%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$56,370	$56,090	32%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.11	$52,140	$56,185	30%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.11	$67,590	$56,231	56%
7	MinnesotaState	1.10	$54,520	$55,633	28%
8	KansasState	1.09	$49,630	$55,144	25%
9	AlaskaState	1.07	$56,510	$54,180	29%
10	IowaState	1.07	$48,490	$54,361	24%
11	MissouriState	1.07	$47,960	$54,131	26%
12	New MexicoState	1.07	$49,650	$53,967	25%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$57,530	$54,376	35%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$50,700	$54,225	31%
15	ArkansasState	1.06	$46,190	$53,523	23%
16	IdahoState	1.06	$51,770	$53,648	28%
17	OhioState	1.06	$48,310	$53,440	26%
18	WashingtonState	1.06	$57,390	$53,486	40%
19	WyomingState	1.06	$49,660	$53,398	24%
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$52,150	$53,652	36%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$48,310	$52,971	30%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.05	$52,420	$53,218	39%
23	IndianaState	1.04	$47,850	$52,873	26%
24	LouisianaState	1.04	$47,490	$52,708	26%
25	MississippiState	1.04	$44,780	$52,807	24%
26	WisconsinState	1.04	$48,690	$52,752	27%
27	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$60,420	$52,861	44%
28	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$59,120	$52,411	41%
29	CaliforniaState	1.03	$57,590	$52,023	47%
30	ColoradoState	1.03	$54,880	$52,068	40%
31	MarylandState	1.03	$56,880	$52,088	35%
32	MichiganState	1.03	$48,250	$52,275	28%
33	MontanaState	1.03	$50,070	$51,940	27%
34	OregonState	1.03	$53,550	$51,990	36%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$49,760	$51,942	36%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$48,060	$52,239	33%
37	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$59,050	$51,662	43%
38	MassachusettsState	1.02	$55,840	$51,465	48%
39	NebraskaState	1.02	$47,130	$51,508	27%
40	North CarolinaState	1.01	$48,190	$51,049	32%
41	West VirginiaState	1.01	$42,990	$51,057	23%
42	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$55,190	$51,197	39%
43	OklahomaState	1.00	$44,950	$50,791	26%
44	VermontState	1.00	$51,810	$50,546	33%
45	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$48,770	$50,382	40%
46	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$57,440	$50,608	53%
47	ConnecticutState	0.99	$54,130	$50,307	35%
48	DelawareState	0.99	$50,850	$50,347	32%
49	GeorgiaState	0.99	$46,830	$50,139	36%
50	New JerseyState	0.99	$54,410	$50,009	40%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$48,800	$50,309	32%
52	TennesseeState	0.99	$45,760	$50,011	33%
53	VirginiaState	0.99	$51,950	$50,193	36%
54	IllinoisState	0.98	$48,310	$49,600	33%
55	MaineState	0.98	$49,710	$49,810	31%
56	South DakotaState	0.98	$45,150	$49,725	25%
57	TexasState	0.98	$47,540	$49,728	35%
58	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$57,600	$49,442	47%
59	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$45,900	$49,622	31%
60	South CarolinaState	0.97	$45,300	$49,239	33%
61	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$50,820	$49,101	38%
62	AlabamaState	0.96	$42,140	$48,381	27%
63	New HampshireState	0.96	$51,400	$48,491	37%
64	ArizonaState	0.94	$47,890	$47,463	38%
65	FloridaState	0.94	$48,330	$47,616	43%
66	NevadaState	0.94	$47,900	$47,804	36%
67	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$45,630	$47,432	41%
68	New YorkState	0.93	$52,920	$47,040	42%
69	UtahState	0.90	$45,790	$45,699	39%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$48,920	$45,088	50%
71	HawaiiState	0.88	$49,260	$44,782	58%

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