Best Cities for Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damages

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where insurance appraisers, auto damages 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	1.41	$97,950	$110,678	12%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.29	$97,910	$101,147	20%
3	PennsylvaniaState	1.26	$95,720	$98,680	16%
4	South CarolinaState	1.20	$86,680	$94,217	17%
5	OklahomaState	1.19	$82,340	$93,040	14%
6	IowaState	1.13	$79,090	$88,666	14%
7	GeorgiaState	1.11	$81,470	$87,227	21%
8	New JerseyState	1.11	$94,280	$86,654	23%
9	ArizonaState	1.09	$86,030	$85,263	21%
10	New MexicoState	1.09	$78,310	$85,120	16%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$77,700	$85,197	19%
12	IndianaState	1.08	$76,750	$84,807	16%
13	MississippiState	1.08	$71,550	$84,375	15%
14	ConnecticutState	1.07	$89,740	$83,401	21%
15	KansasState	1.07	$75,080	$83,422	17%
16	MichiganState	1.07	$77,060	$83,489	17%
17	TexasState	1.06	$79,200	$82,845	21%
18	UtahState	1.05	$82,570	$82,405	22%
19	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$79,810	$82,109	24%
20	WisconsinState	1.04	$75,260	$81,538	17%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$75,200	$81,034	21%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$84,370	$81,517	23%
23	OregonState	1.03	$83,270	$80,845	23%
24	LouisianaState	1.02	$72,040	$79,956	17%
25	MaineState	1.02	$79,510	$79,669	20%
26	IdahoState	1.01	$76,110	$78,870	19%
27	North CarolinaState	1.01	$74,810	$79,248	21%
28	VirginiaState	1.01	$81,470	$78,715	23%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$75,740	$79,061	24%
30	MinnesotaState	1.00	$76,460	$78,020	20%
31	NevadaState	1.00	$78,510	$78,353	22%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$82,850	$78,308	24%
33	MissouriState	0.98	$67,950	$76,693	18%
34	MarylandState	0.97	$82,870	$75,888	24%
35	ArkansasState	0.95	$63,960	$74,114	16%
36	IllinoisState	0.94	$71,510	$73,419	22%
37	MassachusettsState	0.94	$79,930	$73,668	34%
38	TennesseeState	0.94	$67,080	$73,311	22%
39	WashingtonState	0.93	$78,450	$73,113	29%
40	New YorkState	0.92	$81,150	$72,133	27%
41	CaliforniaState	0.91	$78,930	$71,301	34%
42	OhioState	0.90	$63,470	$70,210	20%
43	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$67,080	$69,730	28%
44	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$78,450	$68,635	34%
45	ColoradoState	0.87	$71,600	$67,932	31%
46	NebraskaState	0.87	$62,350	$68,142	20%
47	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$78,930	$67,751	34%
48	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$63,180	$67,572	25%
49	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.84	$74,760	$65,868	41%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.78	$60,020	$60,934	34%
51	FloridaState	0.77	$61,320	$60,414	34%
52	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.72	$61,200	$56,406	40%

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