Best Cities for Judicial Law Clerkss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where judicial law clerkss 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	MassachusettsState	2.04	$143,350	$132,120	19%
2	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.95	$143,350	$126,300	21%
3	New YorkState	1.83	$133,320	$118,507	17%
4	ArkansasState	1.43	$80,150	$92,874	13%
5	North DakotaState	1.42	$85,530	$92,365	14%
6	ConnecticutState	1.41	$98,670	$91,701	19%
7	OregonState	1.30	$86,870	$84,340	22%
8	TennesseeState	1.27	$75,190	$82,175	20%
9	IdahoState	1.21	$75,540	$78,280	19%
10	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.19	$74,010	$76,933	25%
11	MissouriState	1.15	$66,060	$74,560	19%
12	WashingtonState	1.15	$80,240	$74,781	28%
13	MinnesotaState	1.12	$71,070	$72,520	22%
14	IowaState	1.11	$64,260	$72,040	18%
15	CaliforniaState	1.10	$79,030	$71,391	34%
16	LouisianaState	1.08	$63,180	$70,122	20%
17	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$80,240	$70,201	33%
18	NevadaState	1.07	$69,600	$69,461	25%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$69,200	$69,548	26%
20	MaineState	1.05	$67,890	$68,026	23%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$62,260	$68,268	23%
22	MichiganState	1.04	$62,260	$67,454	22%
23	TexasState	1.02	$63,130	$66,036	26%
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$70,110	$66,267	29%
25	AlaskaState	1.00	$67,580	$64,794	24%
26	DelawareState	0.99	$64,720	$64,079	25%
27	MarylandState	0.99	$70,110	$64,203	29%
28	ColoradoState	0.98	$67,230	$63,786	33%
29	VirginiaState	0.98	$65,940	$63,710	29%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$61,840	$63,884	31%
31	IndianaState	0.97	$57,140	$63,138	22%
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$70,110	$62,154	34%
33	West VirginiaState	0.95	$52,120	$61,900	19%
34	ArizonaState	0.92	$60,170	$59,633	30%
35	GeorgiaState	0.91	$55,120	$59,015	31%
36	WisconsinState	0.91	$54,250	$58,776	24%
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$57,060	$57,929	36%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.88	$58,890	$56,899	33%
39	OhioState	0.85	$49,840	$55,133	25%
40	FloridaState	0.84	$55,180	$54,365	37%
41	South CarolinaState	0.84	$50,330	$54,707	30%
42	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.84	$50,590	$54,692	28%
43	NebraskaState	0.83	$49,570	$54,175	25%
44	New JerseyState	0.83	$58,890	$54,127	37%
45	PennsylvaniaState	0.80	$50,590	$52,155	31%
46	UtahState	0.80	$51,900	$51,796	34%
47	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$55,620	$51,263	44%
48	KansasState	0.78	$45,720	$50,800	27%
49	OklahomaState	0.78	$44,990	$50,836	26%
50	MontanaState	0.76	$47,320	$49,087	29%
51	HawaiiState	0.66	$47,010	$42,736	61%

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