Best Cities for Motor Vehicle Operators, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where motor vehicle operators, 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	AlaskaState	1.93	$74,710	$71,630	22%
2	OklahomaState	1.75	$57,550	$65,028	20%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.64	$69,870	$61,129	36%
4	AlabamaState	1.61	$52,100	$59,816	22%
5	New MexicoState	1.59	$54,270	$58,989	23%
6	South DakotaState	1.59	$53,790	$59,240	21%
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.54	$64,600	$57,270	37%
8	UtahState	1.51	$56,140	$56,028	32%
9	WashingtonState	1.50	$59,730	$55,666	38%
10	HawaiiState	1.49	$61,110	$55,555	47%
11	KansasState	1.49	$49,880	$55,422	25%
12	ArizonaState	1.48	$55,680	$55,183	32%
13	MississippiState	1.47	$46,500	$54,835	23%
14	IowaState	1.46	$48,300	$54,148	24%
15	WyomingState	1.40	$48,530	$52,183	24%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.38	$58,510	$51,190	45%
17	New JerseyState	1.25	$50,680	$46,581	43%
18	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.25	$42,600	$46,304	37%
19	IllinoisState	1.24	$44,810	$46,006	35%
20	MontanaState	1.17	$41,860	$43,423	32%
21	IdahoState	1.15	$41,190	$42,684	35%
22	Rhode IslandState	1.14	$42,530	$42,318	42%
23	LouisianaState	1.13	$37,730	$41,876	33%
24	ArkansasState	1.12	$36,090	$41,819	29%
25	CaliforniaState	1.09	$45,050	$40,696	60%
26	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$48,230	$40,125	78%
27	GeorgiaState	1.04	$36,120	$38,672	47%
28	DelawareState	1.03	$38,790	$38,406	42%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.03	$37,730	$38,305	55%
30	TexasState	1.02	$36,340	$38,013	46%
31	West VirginiaState	1.02	$31,790	$37,755	32%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$36,970	$38,035	51%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$44,180	$37,923	62%
34	ColoradoState	1.00	$39,190	$37,182	57%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$33,990	$37,270	43%
36	FloridaState	0.99	$37,330	$36,778	55%
37	MichiganState	0.99	$33,990	$36,826	39%
38	North DakotaState	0.99	$34,230	$36,965	34%
39	TennesseeState	0.99	$33,550	$36,667	45%
40	WisconsinState	0.99	$33,970	$36,804	38%
41	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$35,480	$36,881	53%
42	MissouriState	0.98	$32,330	$36,490	38%
43	NebraskaState	0.98	$33,280	$36,372	38%
44	MinnesotaState	0.95	$34,670	$35,378	44%
45	VirginiaState	0.95	$36,520	$35,285	52%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$32,750	$35,291	47%
47	ConnecticutState	0.94	$37,440	$34,796	50%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$32,300	$34,919	44%
49	New YorkState	0.93	$38,950	$34,622	57%
50	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$37,550	$34,608	65%
51	OhioState	0.92	$31,040	$34,336	40%
52	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.92	$34,050	$34,221	52%
53	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$35,220	$34,029	54%
54	MaineState	0.91	$33,690	$33,758	46%
55	MassachusettsState	0.91	$36,540	$33,677	74%
56	OregonState	0.91	$34,870	$33,854	55%
57	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$32,790	$33,804	47%
58	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$32,830	$33,915	59%
59	Columbus, OHMetro	0.89	$30,860	$33,005	50%
60	MarylandState	0.87	$35,440	$32,454	57%
61	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.87	$35,000	$32,468	61%
62	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.86	$33,730	$31,881	60%
63	North CarolinaState	0.83	$29,000	$30,720	54%
64	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$29,410	$30,699	61%
65	New HampshireState	0.81	$31,770	$29,972	60%
66	South CarolinaState	0.81	$27,840	$30,261	54%
67	IndianaState	0.80	$26,920	$29,746	47%
68	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.78	$33,110	$29,172	93%
69	VermontState	0.77	$29,290	$28,576	58%
70	KentuckyState	0.73	$23,870	$26,972	48%
71	NevadaState	0.68	$25,290	$25,240	69%

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