Best Cities for Legal Support Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where legal support workers, all others 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	VirginiaState	2.41	$179,960	$173,874	11%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	2.09	$169,690	$150,434	14%
3	KansasState	1.36	$88,210	$98,011	14%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.25	$107,980	$89,834	35%
5	MinnesotaState	1.23	$86,940	$88,714	18%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$84,070	$84,492	21%
7	AlaskaState	1.13	$85,000	$81,496	19%
8	New JerseyState	1.12	$88,210	$81,075	24%
9	DelawareState	1.11	$81,170	$80,366	20%
10	WashingtonState	1.11	$85,630	$79,804	27%
11	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.11	$74,360	$80,389	19%
12	MissouriState	1.09	$69,350	$78,273	18%
13	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$79,350	$78,955	23%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$81,170	$78,425	24%
15	CaliforniaState	1.08	$85,830	$77,534	32%
16	New HampshireState	1.08	$82,890	$78,198	23%
17	District of ColumbiaState	1.07	$88,480	$77,410	29%
18	KentuckyState	1.07	$68,220	$77,085	17%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$75,190	$77,515	21%
20	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$71,220	$76,746	22%
21	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$87,110	$76,212	30%
22	NebraskaState	1.05	$69,010	$75,421	18%
23	OhioState	1.03	$67,230	$74,369	19%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$67,120	$73,596	22%
25	MaineState	1.00	$72,110	$72,255	22%
26	MichiganState	1.00	$66,280	$71,809	20%
27	MassachusettsState	0.99	$77,830	$71,733	35%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	0.97	$65,600	$70,160	24%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$78,850	$69,471	39%
30	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$80,330	$68,953	34%
31	WisconsinState	0.95	$63,130	$68,397	21%
32	New YorkState	0.94	$76,520	$68,018	29%
33	IdahoState	0.93	$64,480	$66,819	22%
34	North CarolinaState	0.93	$63,170	$66,917	25%
35	TexasState	0.92	$63,140	$66,046	26%
36	West VirginiaState	0.92	$55,890	$66,378	18%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$71,490	$66,317	30%
38	MississippiState	0.91	$55,930	$65,955	19%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$62,540	$65,282	29%
40	GeorgiaState	0.90	$60,620	$64,904	28%
41	IllinoisState	0.90	$63,250	$64,938	25%
42	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$62,740	$64,814	31%
43	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.90	$63,360	$65,185	30%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.90	$62,700	$65,177	30%
45	TennesseeState	0.89	$58,610	$64,055	26%
46	UtahState	0.89	$64,380	$64,251	28%
47	VermontState	0.89	$66,100	$64,488	26%
48	ColoradoState	0.88	$66,660	$63,245	33%
49	ArizonaState	0.87	$63,160	$62,597	28%
50	IndianaState	0.87	$56,990	$62,972	22%
51	New MexicoState	0.87	$57,780	$62,804	22%
52	OklahomaState	0.87	$55,330	$62,520	21%
53	NevadaState	0.84	$60,820	$60,699	29%
54	OregonState	0.82	$60,860	$59,087	31%
55	North DakotaState	0.81	$53,980	$58,294	22%
56	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.81	$54,060	$58,761	29%
57	MontanaState	0.80	$55,850	$57,936	24%
58	HawaiiState	0.79	$62,530	$56,845	46%
59	LouisianaState	0.79	$51,230	$56,859	25%
60	FloridaState	0.78	$56,880	$56,039	36%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.78	$55,610	$56,457	37%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.73	$56,880	$52,424	43%
63	ArkansasState	0.72	$44,670	$51,761	24%
64	IowaState	0.69	$44,470	$49,854	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).