Best Cities for Library Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where library technicianss 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	1.31	$62,570	$58,313	36%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.29	$65,690	$57,472	40%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.20	$61,040	$53,403	41%
4	ConnecticutState	1.19	$57,060	$53,030	33%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$57,050	$52,922	38%
6	MinnesotaState	1.17	$51,110	$52,153	30%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.17	$62,550	$52,038	60%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$51,520	$51,779	34%
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.14	$57,290	$50,789	42%
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$57,330	$50,511	53%
11	North CarolinaState	1.11	$46,520	$49,280	34%
12	VermontState	1.10	$50,090	$48,868	34%
13	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.10	$46,900	$48,956	38%
14	IllinoisState	1.09	$47,120	$48,378	33%
15	OregonState	1.09	$49,970	$48,515	38%
16	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$48,740	$48,498	37%
17	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$44,820	$48,454	32%
18	CaliforniaState	1.08	$53,260	$48,112	51%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$46,100	$47,526	34%
20	DelawareState	1.06	$47,580	$47,109	34%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$48,880	$47,227	39%
22	KansasState	1.05	$41,960	$46,622	30%
23	HawaiiState	1.04	$50,870	$46,245	56%
24	MassachusettsState	1.04	$50,430	$46,479	54%
25	New HampshireState	1.03	$48,650	$45,896	39%
26	NevadaState	1.02	$45,650	$45,559	38%
27	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$48,090	$45,454	42%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$42,060	$45,323	37%
29	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.02	$49,470	$45,594	49%
30	AlaskaState	1.01	$46,940	$45,005	35%
31	New JerseyState	1.01	$48,840	$44,890	44%
32	MaineState	1.00	$44,520	$44,609	35%
33	MarylandState	1.00	$48,920	$44,799	41%
34	New YorkState	1.00	$50,060	$44,498	44%
35	ColoradoState	0.99	$46,680	$44,288	47%
36	MissouriState	0.99	$39,160	$44,199	32%
37	VirginiaState	0.99	$45,560	$44,019	41%
38	LouisianaState	0.98	$39,180	$43,485	32%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$40,240	$43,739	39%
40	IowaState	0.97	$38,590	$43,262	30%
41	AlabamaState	0.96	$37,150	$42,652	31%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$49,980	$42,901	54%
43	New MexicoState	0.95	$38,830	$42,207	32%
44	North DakotaState	0.95	$39,240	$42,376	30%
45	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$40,760	$42,370	46%
46	OhioState	0.94	$37,920	$41,947	33%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	0.94	$39,070	$41,786	40%
48	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$40,740	$41,914	47%
49	FloridaState	0.91	$41,080	$40,473	50%
50	NebraskaState	0.91	$36,920	$40,350	34%
51	TexasState	0.91	$38,640	$40,418	43%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$39,390	$40,692	49%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$40,080	$40,690	51%
54	ArizonaState	0.90	$40,510	$40,149	44%
55	GeorgiaState	0.90	$37,320	$39,957	45%
56	KentuckyState	0.90	$35,700	$40,339	32%
57	UtahState	0.90	$40,160	$40,080	45%
58	MontanaState	0.89	$38,220	$39,647	35%
59	TennesseeState	0.89	$36,400	$39,781	41%
60	IndianaState	0.88	$35,560	$39,293	36%
61	South CarolinaState	0.88	$36,070	$39,207	42%
62	WisconsinState	0.85	$35,000	$37,920	37%
63	MichiganState	0.84	$34,680	$37,573	39%
64	West VirginiaState	0.81	$30,300	$35,986	33%
65	IdahoState	0.80	$34,510	$35,762	42%
66	OklahomaState	0.75	$29,440	$33,266	39%
67	ArkansasState	0.74	$28,570	$33,105	37%
68	South DakotaState	0.73	$29,590	$32,588	39%
69	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.73	$29,640	$32,500	49%
70	MississippiState	0.72	$27,080	$31,934	40%
71	WyomingState	0.65	$26,850	$28,871	44%

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