Best Cities for Modelss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where modelss 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	ArizonaState	2.25	$109,910	$108,930	16%
2	New YorkState	1.97	$107,280	$95,360	21%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.94	$109,820	$94,266	25%
4	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.89	$99,320	$91,539	25%
5	New JerseyState	1.15	$60,520	$55,625	36%
6	IllinoisState	1.13	$53,280	$54,702	30%
7	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$51,150	$52,623	37%
8	CaliforniaState	1.07	$57,400	$51,852	47%
9	TexasState	1.01	$46,840	$48,996	35%
10	OhioState	0.97	$42,550	$47,069	29%
11	NebraskaState	0.94	$41,600	$45,464	30%
12	FloridaState	0.93	$45,900	$45,222	45%
13	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$45,060	$44,836	40%
14	VirginiaState	0.91	$45,720	$44,174	41%
15	MarylandState	0.89	$47,170	$43,196	43%
16	OregonState	0.86	$42,880	$41,631	45%
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.86	$47,170	$41,817	51%
18	MissouriState	0.81	$34,610	$39,063	36%
19	New HampshireState	0.78	$39,890	$37,632	48%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.68	$34,330	$33,169	56%
21	GeorgiaState	0.33	$15,080	$16,146	113%

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