Best Cities for Human Resources Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where human resources specialistss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.28	$110,970	$97,087	23%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$112,140	$93,295	34%
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.18	$100,830	$89,388	24%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$75,830	$83,147	19%
5	North DakotaState	1.08	$75,630	$81,674	16%
6	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$78,330	$81,764	23%
7	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$75,190	$81,024	21%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.07	$92,770	$81,164	28%
9	MinnesotaState	1.06	$78,760	$80,367	20%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$75,440	$80,684	21%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$80,330	$80,734	22%
12	West VirginiaState	1.05	$66,860	$79,406	15%
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$90,270	$79,533	34%
14	IllinoisState	1.04	$76,820	$78,871	20%
15	KansasState	1.04	$70,870	$78,744	18%
16	MassachusettsState	1.04	$85,630	$78,922	32%
17	VirginiaState	1.04	$82,090	$79,314	23%
18	WashingtonState	1.04	$84,550	$78,798	27%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$72,930	$79,272	21%
20	KentuckyState	1.03	$69,010	$77,977	17%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$75,410	$77,903	26%
22	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$82,380	$77,864	24%
23	North CarolinaState	1.02	$73,070	$77,405	21%
24	OhioState	1.02	$70,180	$77,633	18%
25	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$77,560	$77,174	23%
26	ColoradoState	1.01	$80,840	$76,698	27%
27	ConnecticutState	1.01	$82,890	$77,035	23%
28	DelawareState	1.01	$77,700	$76,931	21%
29	MarylandState	1.01	$83,910	$76,841	24%
30	WisconsinState	1.01	$70,540	$76,425	18%
31	MissouriState	1.00	$66,990	$75,609	19%
32	OregonState	1.00	$78,060	$75,786	24%
33	VermontState	1.00	$77,800	$75,902	22%
34	CaliforniaState	0.99	$83,500	$75,429	33%
35	GeorgiaState	0.99	$70,570	$75,557	24%
36	MichiganState	0.99	$69,520	$75,320	19%
37	New YorkState	0.99	$84,380	$75,004	26%
38	AlabamaState	0.98	$64,940	$74,558	18%
39	IowaState	0.98	$66,710	$74,787	17%
40	New JerseyState	0.98	$80,690	$74,164	27%
41	South DakotaState	0.98	$67,590	$74,438	17%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$76,700	$74,106	25%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$80,100	$74,304	27%
44	AlaskaState	0.97	$76,990	$73,816	21%
45	New MexicoState	0.97	$68,050	$73,967	18%
46	TennesseeState	0.97	$67,370	$73,628	22%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$70,450	$72,629	22%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$70,700	$72,737	27%
49	IndianaState	0.95	$65,600	$72,486	19%
50	MaineState	0.95	$71,630	$71,774	22%
51	TexasState	0.95	$68,920	$72,092	24%
52	WyomingState	0.95	$66,970	$72,011	18%
53	MississippiState	0.94	$60,300	$71,108	18%
54	NevadaState	0.94	$71,610	$71,467	24%
55	South CarolinaState	0.94	$65,370	$71,054	23%
56	UtahState	0.94	$71,750	$71,607	25%
57	ArizonaState	0.93	$71,390	$70,753	25%
58	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.93	$65,260	$70,551	22%
59	OklahomaState	0.92	$61,630	$69,638	19%
60	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$67,380	$70,042	28%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$80,220	$68,858	34%
62	LouisianaState	0.90	$61,300	$68,036	21%
63	IdahoState	0.89	$64,990	$67,347	22%
64	NebraskaState	0.89	$61,930	$67,683	20%
65	HawaiiState	0.88	$73,750	$67,045	39%
66	New HampshireState	0.88	$70,840	$66,830	27%
67	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$65,580	$66,579	31%
68	MontanaState	0.87	$63,790	$66,172	21%
69	FloridaState	0.86	$66,410	$65,429	31%
70	ArkansasState	0.84	$55,010	$63,743	19%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$67,580	$62,286	36%

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