Best Cities for Meeting, Convention, and Event Plannerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where meeting, convention, and event plannerss 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	1.23	$90,560	$75,341	42%
2	VermontState	1.19	$74,310	$72,498	23%
3	MassachusettsState	1.14	$75,740	$69,806	36%
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.12	$78,010	$68,731	39%
5	HawaiiState	1.11	$74,460	$67,691	38%
6	LouisianaState	1.11	$61,150	$67,869	21%
7	District of ColumbiaState	1.10	$76,970	$67,340	33%
8	New JerseyState	1.09	$72,780	$66,893	30%
9	New YorkState	1.09	$74,730	$66,427	30%
10	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$75,450	$66,888	32%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$61,050	$65,294	25%
12	ConnecticutState	1.06	$70,010	$65,065	27%
13	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$62,720	$64,527	30%
14	CaliforniaState	1.05	$71,120	$64,246	38%
15	MissouriState	1.05	$56,900	$64,221	22%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$57,620	$62,091	27%
17	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$59,420	$62,025	30%
18	ArkansasState	1.00	$53,040	$61,460	20%
19	IllinoisState	1.00	$59,840	$61,437	26%
20	KansasState	1.00	$54,840	$60,933	23%
21	WashingtonState	1.00	$65,530	$61,072	35%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.00	$69,890	$61,146	38%
23	ArizonaState	0.99	$61,330	$60,783	29%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$62,530	$60,415	31%
25	AlabamaState	0.98	$52,180	$59,908	22%
26	New HampshireState	0.98	$63,250	$59,670	30%
27	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$58,170	$59,969	27%
28	TexasState	0.98	$57,470	$60,115	29%
29	WyomingState	0.98	$55,550	$59,731	21%
30	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$54,630	$59,901	27%
31	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$59,590	$59,889	30%
32	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$64,480	$59,814	33%
33	FloridaState	0.97	$60,270	$59,379	34%
34	OregonState	0.97	$61,120	$59,340	31%
35	Rhode IslandState	0.97	$59,910	$59,612	30%
36	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$62,960	$59,509	32%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$68,850	$59,099	39%
38	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$58,290	$59,178	35%
39	ColoradoState	0.96	$62,050	$58,871	36%
40	MinnesotaState	0.96	$57,710	$58,888	27%
41	VirginiaState	0.96	$60,930	$58,870	31%
42	WisconsinState	0.96	$53,940	$58,440	24%
43	IowaState	0.95	$51,750	$58,016	22%
44	MaineState	0.95	$57,900	$58,016	27%
45	MarylandState	0.95	$63,280	$57,949	32%
46	North CarolinaState	0.95	$54,990	$58,252	28%
47	NebraskaState	0.94	$52,630	$57,519	24%
48	NevadaState	0.94	$57,610	$57,495	30%
49	MichiganState	0.93	$52,780	$57,183	25%
50	TennesseeState	0.93	$52,000	$56,831	29%
51	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.93	$52,860	$57,146	27%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$52,240	$56,783	30%
53	South CarolinaState	0.92	$51,830	$56,337	29%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$61,260	$56,461	40%
55	KentuckyState	0.91	$49,280	$55,684	23%
56	North DakotaState	0.91	$51,700	$55,832	23%
57	OklahomaState	0.91	$48,990	$55,356	24%
58	IndianaState	0.90	$50,090	$55,348	25%
59	New MexicoState	0.90	$50,820	$55,239	25%
60	OhioState	0.90	$49,900	$55,199	25%
61	UtahState	0.88	$54,150	$54,042	33%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.88	$52,000	$54,054	36%
63	AlaskaState	0.86	$54,990	$52,723	30%
64	GeorgiaState	0.86	$49,250	$52,730	34%
65	MississippiState	0.86	$44,680	$52,689	24%
66	South DakotaState	0.85	$47,050	$51,817	24%
67	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.85	$50,140	$51,798	39%
68	MontanaState	0.83	$49,000	$50,830	28%
69	DelawareState	0.79	$49,020	$48,535	33%
70	West VirginiaState	0.69	$35,760	$42,470	28%

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