Best Cities for Lawyerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where lawyerss 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	1.57	$301,320	$250,682	13%
2	New YorkState	1.16	$207,860	$184,764	11%
3	CaliforniaState	1.10	$195,080	$176,224	14%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$168,510	$173,364	11%
5	DelawareState	1.08	$173,510	$171,792	9%
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$195,190	$173,041	12%
7	District of ColumbiaState	1.07	$195,190	$170,770	13%
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$194,410	$166,876	14%
9	IllinoisState	1.03	$160,800	$165,092	10%
10	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$157,180	$164,071	11%
11	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$170,660	$164,889	11%
12	MassachusettsState	1.02	$176,680	$162,839	15%
13	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$157,180	$162,041	10%
14	TexasState	1.01	$154,200	$161,297	11%
15	VirginiaState	1.01	$167,210	$161,556	11%
16	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$183,350	$161,542	17%
17	ColoradoState	1.00	$168,520	$159,886	13%
18	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.00	$159,620	$160,422	11%
19	MinnesotaState	0.99	$155,140	$158,306	10%
20	AlabamaState	0.95	$131,970	$151,515	9%
21	ConnecticutState	0.95	$163,600	$152,045	12%
22	MissouriState	0.94	$133,450	$150,621	9%
23	NevadaState	0.94	$150,510	$150,210	12%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$137,690	$149,663	11%
25	New JerseyState	0.93	$161,430	$148,373	13%
26	TennesseeState	0.93	$136,180	$148,831	11%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$134,980	$148,004	11%
28	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$160,320	$147,760	15%
29	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$142,540	$148,170	13%
30	Columbus, OHMetro	0.92	$137,810	$147,390	11%
31	OhioState	0.91	$131,020	$144,934	10%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$134,640	$145,086	11%
33	AlaskaState	0.90	$149,940	$143,758	11%
34	GeorgiaState	0.90	$134,830	$144,358	13%
35	WashingtonState	0.90	$154,130	$143,644	15%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.90	$133,040	$143,827	11%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$155,330	$144,091	14%
38	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$164,980	$144,339	16%
39	MichiganState	0.89	$130,520	$141,408	10%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$138,210	$142,779	14%
41	IndianaState	0.88	$126,860	$140,177	10%
42	IowaState	0.87	$123,550	$138,509	9%
43	Rhode IslandState	0.87	$138,960	$138,269	13%
44	WisconsinState	0.86	$126,760	$137,335	10%
45	North CarolinaState	0.85	$127,710	$135,286	12%
46	OregonState	0.84	$138,210	$134,184	14%
47	ArizonaState	0.83	$134,260	$133,062	13%
48	UtahState	0.83	$132,830	$132,565	13%
49	FloridaState	0.82	$133,180	$131,212	15%
50	South CarolinaState	0.82	$120,310	$130,772	13%
51	New MexicoState	0.81	$119,680	$130,087	11%
52	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$127,490	$129,431	16%
53	MarylandState	0.80	$139,110	$127,390	14%
54	VermontState	0.78	$127,310	$124,205	13%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.78	$132,400	$125,142	15%
56	West VirginiaState	0.76	$102,420	$121,639	10%
57	NebraskaState	0.75	$109,170	$119,311	11%
58	KansasState	0.74	$106,650	$118,500	12%
59	OklahomaState	0.73	$103,060	$116,452	11%
60	ArkansasState	0.72	$98,880	$114,577	11%
61	KentuckyState	0.72	$101,550	$114,746	11%
62	LouisianaState	0.72	$104,100	$115,538	12%
63	North DakotaState	0.72	$106,880	$115,421	11%
64	HawaiiState	0.71	$124,990	$113,627	23%
65	MaineState	0.71	$113,120	$113,347	14%
66	New HampshireState	0.71	$120,810	$113,972	16%
67	South DakotaState	0.70	$102,040	$112,379	11%
68	MississippiState	0.68	$91,690	$108,125	12%
69	IdahoState	0.67	$103,400	$107,150	14%
70	MontanaState	0.67	$103,720	$107,593	13%
71	WyomingState	0.67	$100,130	$107,667	12%

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