Best Cities for Motion Picture Projectionistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where motion picture projectionistss 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	IllinoisState	2.12	$78,990	$81,099	20%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	2.07	$92,180	$79,124	29%
3	New YorkState	1.91	$82,260	$73,120	27%
4	CaliforniaState	1.77	$74,840	$67,606	36%
5	OhioState	1.07	$36,870	$40,785	34%
6	MichiganState	1.06	$37,590	$40,726	36%
7	WashingtonState	0.95	$39,070	$36,412	58%
8	MissouriState	0.86	$29,140	$32,889	43%
9	ArizonaState	0.85	$32,890	$32,597	55%
10	TexasState	0.85	$31,160	$32,594	53%
11	PennsylvaniaState	0.80	$29,850	$30,773	52%
12	IowaState	0.68	$23,210	$26,020	49%
13	TennesseeState	0.65	$22,750	$24,863	66%

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