Best Cities for Media and Communication Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where media and communication 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	CaliforniaState	1.26	$102,630	$92,710	26%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.20	$103,050	$88,455	26%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$75,740	$78,244	26%
4	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$70,900	$76,401	22%
5	WisconsinState	1.03	$69,780	$75,601	19%
6	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$69,420	$75,049	20%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.00	$72,980	$73,347	24%
8	MinnesotaState	0.99	$71,090	$72,541	22%
9	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.99	$78,730	$72,562	31%
10	GeorgiaState	0.98	$67,220	$71,970	25%
11	MissouriState	0.98	$63,720	$71,919	19%
12	New YorkState	0.98	$81,110	$72,098	27%
13	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$72,830	$72,468	25%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$74,630	$72,106	26%
15	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$69,470	$71,619	22%
16	VirginiaState	0.91	$69,420	$67,072	27%
17	FloridaState	0.90	$67,450	$66,453	31%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$63,190	$65,010	30%
19	TexasState	0.87	$61,290	$64,111	27%
20	ColoradoState	0.86	$66,830	$63,406	33%
21	MichiganState	0.86	$58,720	$63,619	23%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$62,060	$63,005	33%
23	IllinoisState	0.85	$60,730	$62,351	26%
24	New JerseyState	0.83	$66,830	$61,425	32%
25	District of ColumbiaState	0.80	$67,450	$59,011	37%
26	MassachusettsState	0.80	$63,940	$58,931	42%
27	UtahState	0.77	$56,520	$56,407	32%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.77	$60,360	$57,051	33%
29	IowaState	0.76	$50,080	$56,143	23%
30	MarylandState	0.72	$57,590	$52,738	35%
31	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.72	$49,060	$53,326	32%
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.71	$59,070	$52,367	41%
33	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.69	$48,580	$50,499	38%
34	ConnecticutState	0.68	$53,520	$49,740	35%
35	OhioState	0.68	$45,380	$50,199	28%
36	TennesseeState	0.68	$45,670	$49,913	33%
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.68	$56,890	$49,773	46%
38	WashingtonState	0.67	$52,590	$49,012	43%
39	VermontState	0.66	$49,790	$48,576	34%
40	MaineState	0.65	$47,720	$47,816	33%
41	New MexicoState	0.65	$43,750	$47,554	29%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.65	$46,190	$48,215	39%
43	North CarolinaState	0.62	$42,920	$45,466	36%
44	MontanaState	0.61	$43,630	$45,259	31%
45	KentuckyState	0.60	$39,050	$44,124	29%
46	NevadaState	0.60	$44,310	$44,222	39%
47	HawaiiState	0.59	$47,690	$43,355	60%
48	OregonState	0.55	$41,600	$40,388	46%
49	IndianaState	0.52	$34,350	$37,956	37%
50	ArkansasState	0.51	$32,280	$37,404	33%

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