Best Cities for Museum Technicians and Conservatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where museum technicians and conservatorss 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	MarylandState	1.37	$76,900	$70,421	26%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.37	$79,230	$70,239	30%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.29	$76,110	$66,588	33%
4	New YorkState	1.29	$74,550	$66,267	30%
5	New MexicoState	1.20	$56,670	$61,598	22%
6	WyomingState	1.18	$56,420	$60,667	21%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$59,820	$60,121	30%
8	AlaskaState	1.13	$60,840	$58,332	27%
9	IllinoisState	1.13	$56,720	$58,234	28%
10	IowaState	1.13	$51,740	$58,004	22%
11	ConnecticutState	1.12	$62,030	$57,649	30%
12	KentuckyState	1.10	$49,940	$56,429	23%
13	NevadaState	1.10	$56,470	$56,357	31%
14	CaliforniaState	1.08	$61,550	$55,601	44%
15	MissouriState	1.08	$49,170	$55,497	25%
16	WashingtonState	1.08	$59,610	$55,555	38%
17	Rhode IslandState	1.07	$55,470	$55,194	33%
18	OklahomaState	1.06	$48,090	$54,339	24%
19	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.06	$52,480	$54,553	36%
20	MassachusettsState	1.05	$58,530	$53,945	46%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$51,590	$53,295	38%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$61,370	$53,692	43%
23	GeorgiaState	1.03	$49,270	$52,752	34%
24	FloridaState	1.02	$53,460	$52,670	39%
25	OhioState	1.02	$47,570	$52,622	26%
26	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$50,880	$52,346	37%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$48,410	$52,166	32%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$60,510	$51,940	45%
29	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$62,290	$51,822	61%
30	IndianaState	1.00	$46,490	$51,370	27%
31	KansasState	1.00	$46,320	$51,467	27%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$58,530	$51,568	52%
33	MinnesotaState	0.99	$50,140	$51,163	31%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$47,570	$50,877	33%
35	VirginiaState	0.98	$52,190	$50,425	36%
36	ColoradoState	0.96	$51,990	$49,326	43%
37	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.96	$45,020	$49,364	32%
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.96	$53,460	$49,272	46%
39	TennesseeState	0.95	$44,710	$48,863	34%
40	MaineState	0.94	$48,460	$48,557	32%
41	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$47,150	$48,608	33%
42	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$52,050	$48,284	41%
43	ArkansasState	0.93	$41,280	$47,833	26%
44	TexasState	0.93	$45,880	$47,992	36%
45	ArizonaState	0.90	$46,650	$46,234	39%
46	NebraskaState	0.89	$41,960	$45,858	30%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.89	$47,150	$45,556	41%
48	IdahoState	0.88	$43,520	$45,098	33%
49	AlabamaState	0.86	$38,350	$44,030	30%
50	OregonState	0.86	$45,820	$44,485	42%
51	MontanaState	0.85	$42,390	$43,973	32%
52	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.85	$41,860	$43,695	43%
53	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$45,120	$42,647	45%
54	MichiganState	0.82	$39,000	$42,254	34%
55	WisconsinState	0.82	$38,840	$42,080	34%
56	North CarolinaState	0.81	$39,290	$41,621	40%
57	South CarolinaState	0.81	$38,290	$41,620	39%
58	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.79	$37,520	$40,562	38%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.79	$37,210	$40,446	42%
60	New JerseyState	0.78	$43,780	$40,239	49%
61	DelawareState	0.73	$38,080	$37,703	43%
62	HawaiiState	0.71	$40,170	$36,518	71%
63	LouisianaState	0.70	$32,350	$35,905	39%
64	UtahState	0.69	$35,430	$35,359	51%

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