Best Cities for Media and Communication Equipment Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where media and communication equipment workers, 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.67	$107,520	$117,895	14%
2	VirginiaState	1.61	$117,640	$113,662	16%
3	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.61	$112,260	$113,970	18%
4	AlabamaState	1.56	$96,100	$110,333	12%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.53	$121,680	$107,872	20%
6	MichiganState	1.48	$96,530	$104,583	14%
7	NebraskaState	1.42	$92,080	$100,634	14%
8	Columbus, OHMetro	1.40	$92,580	$99,016	17%
9	ArizonaState	1.39	$99,320	$98,434	18%
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.38	$89,920	$97,739	17%
11	LouisianaState	1.35	$86,260	$95,738	15%
12	FloridaState	1.20	$86,230	$84,956	24%
13	North CarolinaState	1.18	$78,690	$83,358	20%
14	ColoradoState	1.16	$86,370	$81,945	26%
15	South CarolinaState	1.14	$74,010	$80,446	20%
16	TexasState	1.13	$76,400	$79,916	22%
17	MinnesotaState	1.12	$77,960	$79,551	20%
18	OhioState	1.12	$71,610	$79,215	18%
19	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.12	$86,230	$79,475	28%
20	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$73,140	$79,070	19%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.10	$75,600	$77,938	21%
22	UtahState	1.08	$76,790	$76,637	23%
23	IllinoisState	1.05	$72,430	$74,363	22%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$75,600	$73,043	25%
25	ConnecticutState	0.96	$73,400	$68,216	26%
26	New YorkState	0.96	$76,020	$67,573	29%
27	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$71,090	$67,193	28%
28	OregonState	0.93	$67,830	$65,854	28%
29	New JerseyState	0.91	$70,280	$64,596	31%
30	MarylandState	0.89	$68,880	$63,077	29%
31	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$67,830	$62,922	32%
32	MissouriState	0.85	$53,480	$60,361	23%
33	MississippiState	0.83	$49,590	$58,479	22%
34	CaliforniaState	0.82	$64,550	$58,311	42%
35	MassachusettsState	0.79	$60,960	$56,184	44%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.78	$64,540	$55,399	42%
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.78	$62,700	$54,856	42%
38	NevadaState	0.77	$54,650	$54,541	32%
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.76	$51,970	$54,023	36%
40	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.76	$64,550	$53,702	58%
41	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.75	$60,440	$53,251	51%
42	New MexicoState	0.74	$48,090	$52,272	26%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.74	$50,470	$52,683	36%
44	GeorgiaState	0.73	$48,120	$51,520	35%
45	HawaiiState	0.73	$56,900	$51,727	50%
46	MaineState	0.72	$50,960	$51,062	30%
47	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.70	$48,120	$49,711	40%
48	TennesseeState	0.65	$42,370	$46,306	36%
49	New HampshireState	0.63	$47,040	$44,377	40%
50	MontanaState	0.54	$36,890	$38,268	37%

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