Best Cities for Library Assistants, Clericals

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where library assistants, clericals 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	1.42	$62,780	$52,230	60%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.41	$59,390	$51,960	42%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.31	$48,120	$48,362	37%
4	NevadaState	1.26	$46,620	$46,527	37%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.22	$48,470	$44,963	44%
6	WashingtonState	1.20	$47,540	$44,306	48%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.20	$50,560	$44,234	52%
8	CaliforniaState	1.17	$47,860	$43,234	57%
9	AlaskaState	1.16	$44,800	$42,953	37%
10	WisconsinState	1.16	$39,610	$42,914	33%
11	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.16	$41,210	$42,838	45%
12	MarylandState	1.14	$45,910	$42,042	44%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.12	$46,820	$41,507	51%
14	MinnesotaState	1.11	$39,970	$40,786	38%
15	OregonState	1.11	$42,270	$41,039	45%
16	TennesseeState	1.11	$37,410	$40,885	40%
17	WyomingState	1.11	$38,040	$40,903	31%
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.11	$47,770	$41,004	57%
19	MontanaState	1.10	$39,070	$40,529	35%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$45,890	$40,432	67%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.08	$38,640	$39,917	50%
22	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$36,510	$39,685	43%
23	GeorgiaState	1.06	$36,410	$38,983	47%
24	MassachusettsState	1.06	$42,520	$39,189	64%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$41,070	$38,819	49%
26	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$36,290	$38,813	43%
27	New MexicoState	1.04	$35,250	$38,315	36%
28	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$36,610	$38,215	49%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$37,790	$38,365	55%
30	KentuckyState	1.03	$33,690	$38,068	34%
31	MaineState	1.03	$37,890	$37,966	41%
32	MissouriState	1.03	$33,760	$38,104	37%
33	ArizonaState	1.02	$38,110	$37,770	47%
34	FloridaState	1.01	$37,880	$37,320	54%
35	MichiganState	1.01	$34,510	$37,389	39%
36	North DakotaState	1.01	$34,530	$37,289	34%
37	OhioState	1.00	$33,480	$37,035	37%
38	South CarolinaState	1.00	$33,980	$36,935	44%
39	VirginiaState	1.00	$38,020	$36,734	50%
40	DelawareState	0.99	$37,090	$36,723	44%
41	New JerseyState	0.99	$39,780	$36,563	54%
42	North CarolinaState	0.99	$34,550	$36,600	45%
43	Rhode IslandState	0.99	$36,610	$36,428	49%
44	West VirginiaState	0.99	$30,800	$36,580	33%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$33,760	$36,379	46%
46	ArkansasState	0.98	$31,100	$36,037	34%
47	ConnecticutState	0.98	$39,100	$36,338	48%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$37,350	$36,087	51%
49	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$33,380	$36,086	42%
50	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$38,830	$35,788	63%
51	IllinoisState	0.96	$34,680	$35,606	45%
52	New HampshireState	0.96	$37,400	$35,283	51%
53	VermontState	0.96	$36,430	$35,541	47%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$34,590	$35,586	55%
55	IdahoState	0.95	$33,960	$35,192	42%
56	KansasState	0.95	$31,550	$35,056	39%
57	ColoradoState	0.93	$36,130	$34,279	61%
58	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$31,460	$34,496	46%
59	HawaiiState	0.91	$37,110	$33,736	77%
60	OklahomaState	0.91	$29,640	$33,492	39%
61	IowaState	0.90	$29,480	$33,049	39%
62	MississippiState	0.90	$28,110	$33,149	38%
63	LouisianaState	0.89	$29,620	$32,875	42%
64	TexasState	0.88	$31,200	$32,636	53%
65	UtahState	0.88	$32,690	$32,625	55%
66	IndianaState	0.87	$28,900	$31,934	44%
67	New YorkState	0.87	$35,990	$31,991	62%
68	AlabamaState	0.86	$27,530	$31,607	42%
69	PennsylvaniaState	0.86	$30,690	$31,639	51%
70	NebraskaState	0.83	$28,080	$30,689	45%

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