Best Cities for Interpreters and Translatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where interpreters and translatorss 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	1.60	$109,970	$96,212	23%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.40	$101,530	$84,468	37%
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.39	$94,510	$83,785	25%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.36	$82,320	$81,910	22%
5	MarylandState	1.35	$88,550	$81,090	23%
6	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.31	$83,200	$78,639	24%
7	New YorkState	1.24	$84,090	$74,747	26%
8	New MexicoState	1.15	$63,550	$69,076	20%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$68,980	$69,327	26%
10	IdahoState	1.14	$66,130	$68,528	22%
11	WisconsinState	1.14	$63,390	$68,678	21%
12	ColoradoState	1.13	$71,790	$68,112	31%
13	MinnesotaState	1.13	$66,410	$67,765	23%
14	OhioState	1.13	$61,230	$67,732	20%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.13	$62,730	$67,816	23%
16	MississippiState	1.12	$57,130	$67,370	19%
17	MassachusettsState	1.11	$72,750	$67,051	37%
18	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$75,120	$66,185	41%
19	UtahState	1.09	$65,770	$65,639	27%
20	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$60,850	$65,571	25%
21	MissouriState	1.07	$57,010	$64,345	22%
22	OregonState	1.07	$66,300	$64,369	29%
23	CaliforniaState	1.06	$70,770	$63,930	38%
24	ConnecticutState	1.06	$68,340	$63,513	28%
25	MaineState	1.06	$63,470	$63,597	24%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$60,420	$62,417	32%
27	GeorgiaState	1.03	$57,880	$61,970	29%
28	ArkansasState	1.01	$52,490	$60,823	20%
29	KentuckyState	1.01	$53,590	$60,554	21%
30	VermontState	1.01	$62,450	$60,927	27%
31	VirginiaState	1.01	$63,030	$60,899	30%
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$69,460	$59,622	39%
33	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$57,040	$58,804	27%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$55,380	$59,230	28%
35	South DakotaState	0.97	$53,140	$58,524	22%
36	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.97	$56,920	$58,560	33%
37	NebraskaState	0.96	$53,050	$57,978	24%
38	WashingtonState	0.96	$61,750	$57,549	37%
39	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$65,800	$57,568	40%
40	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$61,920	$57,069	40%
41	IllinoisState	0.94	$55,290	$56,766	28%
42	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$60,960	$56,549	35%
43	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$51,820	$56,326	30%
44	TennesseeState	0.93	$51,080	$55,825	30%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$57,940	$55,981	33%
46	OklahomaState	0.92	$48,980	$55,345	24%
47	South CarolinaState	0.92	$50,860	$55,283	30%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$52,640	$54,948	34%
49	IowaState	0.90	$48,150	$53,980	24%
50	New JerseyState	0.90	$58,970	$54,200	37%
51	KansasState	0.89	$47,950	$53,278	26%
52	LouisianaState	0.89	$48,420	$53,740	26%
53	AlabamaState	0.88	$46,130	$52,962	25%
54	IndianaState	0.88	$48,140	$53,193	26%
55	New HampshireState	0.88	$56,370	$53,179	34%
56	North CarolinaState	0.88	$50,030	$52,998	31%
57	North DakotaState	0.86	$48,190	$52,041	24%
58	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$49,840	$51,809	37%
59	NevadaState	0.84	$50,370	$50,269	35%
60	ArizonaState	0.83	$50,150	$49,703	36%
61	TexasState	0.83	$47,510	$49,697	35%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.83	$49,470	$50,223	42%
63	MichiganState	0.82	$45,310	$49,090	30%
64	MontanaState	0.82	$47,850	$49,637	28%
65	FloridaState	0.80	$48,930	$48,207	42%
66	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.66	$35,990	$39,463	41%
67	HawaiiState	0.64	$42,270	$38,427	68%

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