Best Cities for Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loans

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where interviewers, except eligibility and loans 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	1.28	$70,840	$58,935	53%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.13	$59,420	$51,986	44%
3	CaliforniaState	1.12	$56,880	$51,382	48%
4	MinnesotaState	1.11	$49,980	$51,000	31%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$50,870	$51,126	35%
6	WisconsinState	1.09	$46,070	$49,913	28%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.08	$49,780	$49,532	36%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$45,050	$49,397	32%
9	New YorkState	1.07	$55,410	$49,253	40%
10	OregonState	1.07	$50,730	$49,252	38%
11	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$52,880	$49,054	41%
12	DelawareState	1.06	$49,010	$48,525	33%
13	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$47,320	$48,683	40%
14	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$45,020	$48,513	34%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$44,870	$48,508	32%
16	NebraskaState	1.05	$44,130	$48,230	28%
17	South DakotaState	1.05	$43,930	$48,381	26%
18	VermontState	1.05	$49,480	$48,273	35%
19	MichiganState	1.04	$44,180	$47,866	30%
20	WashingtonState	1.04	$51,090	$47,614	45%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$44,640	$47,743	35%
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$55,780	$47,880	49%
23	ColoradoState	1.03	$49,660	$47,116	45%
24	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$45,590	$47,391	41%
25	OhioState	1.02	$42,480	$46,991	30%
26	MassachusettsState	1.01	$50,340	$46,396	54%
27	KentuckyState	1.00	$40,490	$45,751	28%
28	New HampshireState	1.00	$48,890	$46,123	39%
29	TexasState	1.00	$43,980	$46,004	38%
30	AlaskaState	0.99	$47,630	$45,666	34%
31	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$44,070	$45,433	35%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$41,860	$45,500	37%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$47,450	$44,849	42%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$46,490	$44,918	41%
35	ConnecticutState	0.97	$47,980	$44,591	39%
36	GeorgiaState	0.97	$41,450	$44,379	41%
37	IllinoisState	0.97	$43,200	$44,353	36%
38	IndianaState	0.97	$40,510	$44,762	31%
39	MontanaState	0.97	$42,970	$44,575	32%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$50,700	$44,670	60%
41	IowaState	0.96	$39,520	$44,305	29%
42	MaineState	0.96	$43,830	$43,918	35%
43	MissouriState	0.96	$38,940	$43,950	32%
44	OklahomaState	0.96	$39,130	$44,215	30%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$49,700	$44,060	48%
46	District of ColumbiaState	0.95	$49,730	$43,508	51%
47	KansasState	0.95	$39,430	$43,811	31%
48	MarylandState	0.95	$47,550	$43,544	42%
49	New JerseyState	0.95	$47,380	$43,548	46%
50	ArkansasState	0.94	$37,150	$43,048	28%
51	TennesseeState	0.94	$39,340	$42,995	38%
52	West VirginiaState	0.94	$36,480	$43,325	28%
53	WyomingState	0.94	$40,050	$43,065	30%
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$42,000	$43,388	46%
55	ArizonaState	0.93	$43,200	$42,815	42%
56	FloridaState	0.93	$43,500	$42,857	47%
57	VirginiaState	0.93	$44,280	$42,783	43%
58	NevadaState	0.92	$42,340	$42,255	41%
59	South CarolinaState	0.92	$38,830	$42,207	39%
60	North DakotaState	0.91	$38,590	$41,674	30%
61	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$45,420	$41,862	54%
62	LouisianaState	0.90	$37,190	$41,276	34%
63	MississippiState	0.90	$35,110	$41,403	31%
64	North CarolinaState	0.90	$39,200	$41,525	40%
65	UtahState	0.90	$41,530	$41,447	43%
66	IdahoState	0.89	$39,450	$40,881	36%
67	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$38,880	$40,585	46%
68	AlabamaState	0.85	$34,180	$39,242	34%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$37,970	$38,548	54%
70	HawaiiState	0.71	$35,680	$32,436	80%

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