Best Cities for Librarians and Media Collections Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where librarians and media collections specialistss 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	WashingtonState	1.37	$100,030	$93,225	23%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.30	$101,780	$89,046	26%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.26	$103,240	$85,890	37%
4	District of ColumbiaState	1.24	$96,550	$84,471	26%
5	NevadaState	1.24	$84,540	$84,371	21%
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.24	$95,480	$84,645	25%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.23	$97,510	$83,700	28%
8	GeorgiaState	1.20	$76,750	$82,173	22%
9	CaliforniaState	1.19	$89,790	$81,111	30%
10	MarylandState	1.19	$88,570	$81,108	23%
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.19	$78,460	$81,054	25%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$80,800	$81,206	22%
13	MinnesotaState	1.16	$77,650	$79,235	20%
14	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.15	$83,090	$78,535	24%
15	DelawareState	1.13	$77,700	$76,931	21%
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.12	$74,340	$76,481	26%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.12	$82,130	$76,187	26%
18	AlaskaState	1.11	$78,810	$75,561	21%
19	OregonState	1.11	$78,070	$75,796	24%
20	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$75,860	$75,483	24%
21	TexasState	1.10	$71,860	$75,167	23%
22	VirginiaState	1.10	$77,430	$74,812	24%
23	AlabamaState	1.09	$64,650	$74,225	18%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$77,330	$74,715	25%
25	ConnecticutState	1.08	$79,210	$73,615	24%
26	KentuckyState	1.08	$65,200	$73,672	18%
27	ColoradoState	1.06	$76,480	$72,562	29%
28	MassachusettsState	1.06	$78,540	$72,387	34%
29	New JerseyState	1.06	$78,380	$72,040	28%
30	WisconsinState	1.06	$66,870	$72,449	19%
31	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$66,870	$72,685	23%
32	NebraskaState	1.03	$64,060	$70,011	20%
33	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$79,450	$70,000	39%
34	New YorkState	1.02	$78,590	$69,858	28%
35	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$65,120	$69,647	24%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$68,800	$69,848	30%
37	KansasState	1.01	$61,900	$68,778	20%
38	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$64,180	$69,159	24%
39	New MexicoState	1.00	$62,530	$67,967	20%
40	South CarolinaState	1.00	$62,640	$68,087	24%
41	LouisianaState	0.99	$60,650	$67,314	21%
42	North DakotaState	0.99	$62,830	$67,851	19%
43	TennesseeState	0.99	$62,090	$67,858	24%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$64,830	$67,391	29%
45	MississippiState	0.98	$56,970	$67,182	19%
46	OhioState	0.98	$60,630	$67,069	21%
47	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$64,240	$67,056	28%
48	FloridaState	0.97	$67,060	$66,069	31%
49	MissouriState	0.97	$58,700	$66,253	21%
50	MontanaState	0.97	$63,870	$66,255	21%
51	ArkansasState	0.96	$56,800	$65,817	19%
52	IowaState	0.96	$58,440	$65,516	20%
53	OklahomaState	0.96	$58,180	$65,740	20%
54	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$60,060	$65,855	24%
55	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$60,760	$65,686	23%
56	MichiganState	0.95	$60,010	$65,016	22%
57	North CarolinaState	0.95	$61,420	$65,064	25%
58	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$62,880	$64,825	25%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$70,090	$64,599	35%
60	IllinoisState	0.94	$62,700	$64,374	25%
61	HawaiiState	0.91	$68,270	$62,064	42%
62	VermontState	0.89	$62,360	$60,839	27%
63	ArizonaState	0.88	$60,500	$59,960	30%
64	New HampshireState	0.88	$63,580	$59,981	30%
65	IndianaState	0.87	$53,500	$59,116	24%
66	MaineState	0.87	$59,540	$59,659	26%
67	South DakotaState	0.83	$51,210	$56,399	22%
68	IdahoState	0.82	$54,130	$56,093	27%
69	UtahState	0.79	$53,730	$53,623	33%
70	West VirginiaState	0.75	$42,980	$51,045	23%
71	WyomingState	0.73	$46,530	$50,032	25%

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