Best Cities for Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistratess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where judges, magistrate judges, and magistratess 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	Rhode IslandState	1.55	$239,760	$238,567	8%
2	NebraskaState	1.48	$208,180	$227,519	6%
3	TennesseeState	1.48	$208,350	$227,705	7%
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.47	$218,190	$226,809	9%
5	New MexicoState	1.45	$205,400	$223,261	6%
6	MassachusettsState	1.33	$221,710	$204,341	12%
7	ConnecticutState	1.31	$217,760	$202,379	9%
8	IndianaState	1.31	$183,000	$202,210	7%
9	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.30	$196,890	$199,888	10%
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.28	$204,160	$197,256	9%
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.27	$221,710	$195,339	14%
12	MinnesotaState	1.26	$190,110	$193,990	8%
13	HawaiiState	1.25	$211,810	$192,555	14%
14	New YorkState	1.25	$216,390	$192,347	10%
15	VermontState	1.23	$194,170	$189,434	9%
16	ColoradoState	1.22	$198,790	$188,605	11%
17	New JerseyState	1.22	$204,160	$187,647	11%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.22	$186,580	$187,518	10%
19	North DakotaState	1.20	$171,100	$184,773	7%
20	FloridaState	1.19	$186,040	$183,291	11%
21	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.18	$196,890	$181,465	12%
22	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.17	$191,320	$180,832	11%
23	IdahoState	1.16	$172,920	$179,192	8%
24	AlaskaState	1.14	$183,310	$175,753	9%
25	KentuckyState	1.11	$150,650	$170,226	8%
26	NevadaState	1.08	$166,360	$166,028	10%
27	IowaState	1.07	$147,510	$165,370	8%
28	KansasState	1.07	$148,910	$165,456	8%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$178,260	$165,362	12%
30	MaineState	1.05	$161,470	$161,794	10%
31	OregonState	1.05	$166,400	$161,553	11%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$145,860	$158,543	11%
33	MarylandState	1.02	$172,190	$157,683	12%
34	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$144,790	$149,576	13%
35	TexasState	0.95	$139,990	$146,433	12%
36	GeorgiaState	0.93	$133,660	$143,105	13%
37	DelawareState	0.84	$131,340	$130,040	12%
38	WashingtonState	0.81	$134,270	$125,135	17%
39	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.77	$135,180	$118,268	20%
40	PennsylvaniaState	0.74	$110,580	$114,000	14%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	0.72	$104,000	$111,230	15%
42	OhioState	0.68	$95,260	$105,376	13%
43	VirginiaState	0.65	$104,000	$100,483	18%
44	South CarolinaState	0.61	$86,210	$93,707	17%
45	ArizonaState	0.60	$93,280	$92,448	19%
46	LouisianaState	0.60	$83,040	$92,164	15%
47	UtahState	0.60	$92,780	$92,595	19%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.60	$104,000	$92,199	23%
49	MontanaState	0.57	$84,630	$87,790	16%
50	WisconsinState	0.54	$76,620	$83,012	17%
51	West VirginiaState	0.49	$63,240	$75,107	16%
52	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.49	$72,610	$75,793	25%
53	AlabamaState	0.39	$52,850	$60,677	22%
54	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.39	$55,000	$60,307	27%
55	MississippiState	0.38	$49,960	$58,915	21%
56	MichiganState	0.36	$51,210	$55,482	26%

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