Best Cities for Marketing Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where marketing managerss 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	MassachusettsState	1.17	$212,020	$195,410	13%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$231,370	$192,488	16%
3	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$213,910	$188,467	14%
4	South DakotaState	1.11	$167,750	$184,747	7%
5	VirginiaState	1.09	$187,820	$181,469	10%
6	MinnesotaState	1.06	$173,300	$176,837	9%
7	CaliforniaState	1.05	$193,620	$174,905	14%
8	North CarolinaState	1.05	$165,480	$175,297	9%
9	ColoradoState	1.04	$182,730	$173,368	12%
10	WyomingState	1.04	$161,580	$173,742	7%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$166,200	$173,486	11%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$173,040	$173,910	10%
13	GeorgiaState	1.03	$160,760	$172,120	11%
14	KansasState	1.03	$154,510	$171,678	8%
15	MontanaState	1.03	$165,580	$171,763	8%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$163,500	$168,905	12%
17	IllinoisState	1.00	$162,860	$167,207	10%
18	New JerseyState	0.99	$180,040	$165,478	12%
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$149,310	$163,717	10%
20	New YorkState	0.97	$181,200	$161,067	12%
21	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$159,990	$162,426	13%
22	WashingtonState	0.96	$172,270	$160,550	13%
23	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$155,460	$159,938	12%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$166,310	$160,686	12%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$172,610	$160,121	12%
26	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$181,260	$160,691	13%
27	ArkansasState	0.95	$136,520	$158,192	8%
28	ConnecticutState	0.94	$169,240	$157,286	11%
29	OregonState	0.94	$161,560	$156,854	12%
30	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$177,170	$155,004	14%
31	PennsylvaniaState	0.93	$150,810	$155,474	10%
32	South CarolinaState	0.93	$143,290	$155,750	11%
33	TexasState	0.93	$147,880	$154,686	11%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.92	$175,850	$153,850	15%
35	IndianaState	0.90	$136,260	$150,564	9%
36	MichiganState	0.90	$138,510	$150,065	10%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.90	$139,240	$150,043	11%
38	IdahoState	0.88	$142,090	$147,244	10%
39	IowaState	0.88	$131,120	$146,996	9%
40	MissouriState	0.88	$130,550	$147,348	10%
41	OhioState	0.88	$132,330	$146,383	9%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$171,900	$147,554	16%
43	KentuckyState	0.87	$128,930	$145,684	9%
44	WisconsinState	0.87	$133,600	$144,745	10%
45	OklahomaState	0.86	$126,920	$143,412	9%
46	TennesseeState	0.86	$131,990	$144,251	11%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$134,420	$143,765	12%
48	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$131,800	$143,261	12%
49	MarylandState	0.85	$154,160	$141,172	13%
50	FloridaState	0.84	$142,620	$140,512	14%
51	UtahState	0.84	$139,830	$139,551	13%
52	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.84	$135,370	$140,717	14%
53	AlabamaState	0.83	$120,160	$137,956	10%
54	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.83	$127,590	$137,935	11%
55	MaineState	0.81	$135,380	$135,651	11%
56	New HampshireState	0.81	$143,280	$135,170	13%
57	North DakotaState	0.81	$125,580	$135,616	9%
58	LouisianaState	0.80	$120,650	$133,907	10%
59	New MexicoState	0.80	$122,980	$133,674	10%
60	ArizonaState	0.79	$132,220	$131,041	14%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.79	$140,180	$132,495	14%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$135,870	$125,226	18%
63	NebraskaState	0.72	$110,570	$120,842	11%
64	MississippiState	0.71	$100,940	$119,033	11%
65	West VirginiaState	0.70	$98,750	$117,280	10%
66	AlaskaState	0.67	$116,270	$111,477	14%
67	HawaiiState	0.64	$117,770	$107,064	24%
68	NevadaState	0.64	$107,550	$107,335	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).