Best Cities for Managers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where managers, 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.27	$217,280	$180,765	17%
2	MassachusettsState	1.19	$182,950	$168,618	15%
3	DelawareState	1.17	$168,060	$166,396	10%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.16	$165,900	$165,075	11%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.15	$156,020	$162,860	12%
6	ColoradoState	1.14	$171,140	$162,372	13%
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.14	$184,250	$162,335	17%
8	VirginiaState	1.13	$166,230	$160,609	11%
9	CaliforniaState	1.11	$174,560	$157,687	16%
10	AlabamaState	1.10	$135,890	$156,016	8%
11	MinnesotaState	1.10	$152,600	$155,714	10%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.09	$153,860	$154,633	12%
13	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$175,720	$153,736	14%
14	WashingtonState	1.08	$164,160	$152,992	14%
15	ConnecticutState	1.07	$162,690	$151,199	12%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$138,970	$152,379	11%
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$170,980	$151,578	14%
18	New JerseyState	1.05	$161,510	$148,447	13%
19	New YorkState	1.05	$167,200	$148,622	13%
20	North CarolinaState	1.05	$141,160	$149,534	11%
21	OklahomaState	1.05	$131,870	$149,006	9%
22	West VirginiaState	1.05	$124,940	$148,385	8%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$136,530	$147,123	11%
24	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$168,980	$147,839	16%
25	KansasState	1.03	$131,710	$146,344	9%
26	MarylandState	1.03	$159,040	$145,641	13%
27	MichiganState	1.03	$134,260	$145,460	10%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$168,160	$144,343	16%
29	IllinoisState	1.01	$140,240	$143,984	11%
30	IowaState	1.01	$128,080	$143,587	9%
31	OhioState	1.01	$129,940	$143,739	10%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$139,810	$143,837	14%
33	MissouriState	1.00	$125,760	$141,941	10%
34	South CarolinaState	1.00	$129,960	$141,261	12%
35	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$130,750	$141,351	11%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.00	$130,900	$142,283	12%
37	TexasState	0.99	$134,390	$140,575	12%
38	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$148,700	$140,548	14%
39	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$131,580	$140,727	12%
40	KentuckyState	0.98	$122,930	$138,904	9%
41	New HampshireState	0.97	$145,630	$137,387	13%
42	IdahoState	0.96	$131,550	$136,321	11%
43	North DakotaState	0.96	$126,440	$136,544	9%
44	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$131,600	$135,670	12%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$140,750	$135,990	14%
46	New MexicoState	0.95	$123,550	$134,293	10%
47	UtahState	0.95	$134,890	$134,621	13%
48	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.95	$130,340	$134,649	15%
49	GeorgiaState	0.94	$125,000	$133,833	14%
50	South DakotaState	0.93	$119,470	$131,575	10%
51	ArizonaState	0.91	$129,870	$128,712	14%
52	NebraskaState	0.90	$116,430	$127,246	11%
53	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.87	$132,440	$122,857	16%
54	AlaskaState	0.86	$127,950	$122,675	13%
55	OregonState	0.86	$125,580	$121,922	15%
56	VermontState	0.86	$125,440	$122,380	14%
57	WyomingState	0.86	$113,420	$121,957	10%
58	MississippiState	0.84	$101,570	$119,776	11%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$117,810	$119,604	18%
60	HawaiiState	0.83	$130,000	$118,182	22%
61	MaineState	0.82	$115,920	$116,152	13%
62	WisconsinState	0.82	$107,050	$115,980	12%
63	LouisianaState	0.81	$103,140	$114,473	12%
64	MontanaState	0.81	$110,470	$114,595	12%
65	NevadaState	0.79	$112,040	$111,816	16%
66	TennesseeState	0.77	$99,430	$108,667	15%
67	FloridaState	0.76	$108,890	$107,281	19%
68	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.76	$104,130	$108,243	18%
69	ArkansasState	0.71	$87,520	$101,414	12%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.69	$106,880	$98,507	23%
71	IndianaState	0.62	$79,900	$88,287	16%

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