Best Cities for Human Resources Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where human resources 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$220,460	$183,411	17%
2	MassachusettsState	1.12	$181,780	$167,539	15%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.12	$161,250	$166,581	12%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$167,110	$166,279	11%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.11	$158,930	$165,898	11%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.10	$149,980	$164,452	10%
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$184,990	$162,987	17%
8	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$184,350	$161,286	14%
9	GeorgiaState	1.08	$150,700	$161,349	11%
10	VirginiaState	1.07	$165,980	$160,367	11%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$159,390	$160,191	11%
12	ColoradoState	1.06	$166,400	$157,875	13%
13	New JerseyState	1.06	$172,440	$158,493	13%
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$177,960	$157,766	13%
15	MinnesotaState	1.05	$153,770	$156,908	10%
16	New YorkState	1.05	$176,650	$157,022	13%
17	IllinoisState	1.04	$151,370	$155,411	10%
18	CaliforniaState	1.03	$170,080	$153,640	16%
19	ConnecticutState	1.03	$165,930	$154,210	11%
20	WashingtonState	1.03	$165,530	$154,268	14%
21	DelawareState	1.02	$153,890	$152,366	11%
22	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$140,890	$151,821	11%
23	MichiganState	1.01	$138,930	$150,520	10%
24	North CarolinaState	1.01	$142,990	$151,472	11%
25	North DakotaState	1.01	$139,050	$150,162	8%
26	KansasState	1.00	$134,470	$149,411	9%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$154,490	$149,266	12%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.00	$171,360	$149,921	15%
29	MissouriState	0.99	$130,680	$147,494	10%
30	OhioState	0.97	$130,480	$144,336	10%
31	WisconsinState	0.97	$133,490	$144,626	10%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$140,890	$144,949	13%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$168,400	$144,549	16%
34	IndianaState	0.96	$130,340	$144,022	10%
35	TennesseeState	0.96	$131,760	$144,000	11%
36	TexasState	0.96	$136,500	$142,782	12%
37	IowaState	0.95	$126,370	$141,670	9%
38	NebraskaState	0.95	$129,460	$141,486	10%
39	West VirginiaState	0.95	$120,020	$142,542	8%
40	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$131,690	$142,368	11%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$130,370	$141,707	12%
42	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$140,400	$142,538	15%
43	MarylandState	0.94	$152,770	$139,899	13%
44	Columbus, OHMetro	0.94	$131,100	$140,214	12%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$135,230	$140,572	14%
46	ArizonaState	0.93	$139,820	$138,573	13%
47	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$146,370	$138,346	14%
48	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.93	$148,900	$138,126	14%
49	KentuckyState	0.92	$121,460	$137,243	9%
50	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$133,060	$137,175	12%
51	WyomingState	0.92	$127,520	$137,118	9%
52	FloridaState	0.91	$137,790	$135,754	15%
53	OregonState	0.91	$140,570	$136,476	14%
54	South CarolinaState	0.90	$124,290	$135,098	12%
55	OklahomaState	0.88	$116,080	$131,164	10%
56	UtahState	0.88	$131,380	$131,118	14%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$142,940	$131,742	17%
58	AlabamaState	0.87	$113,210	$129,977	10%
59	MaineState	0.87	$129,720	$129,980	12%
60	South DakotaState	0.87	$117,930	$129,879	10%
61	NevadaState	0.86	$128,550	$128,293	14%
62	New MexicoState	0.86	$118,070	$128,337	11%
63	VermontState	0.86	$132,050	$128,829	13%
64	New HampshireState	0.85	$135,000	$127,358	14%
65	ArkansasState	0.84	$108,580	$125,817	10%
66	MississippiState	0.84	$106,100	$125,118	10%
67	AlaskaState	0.83	$129,570	$124,228	13%
68	IdahoState	0.83	$119,990	$124,342	12%
69	LouisianaState	0.80	$107,880	$119,734	12%
70	MontanaState	0.80	$115,280	$119,585	12%
71	HawaiiState	0.79	$128,910	$117,191	22%

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