Best Cities for Music Directors and Composerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where music directors and composerss 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	New JerseyState	1.53	$122,750	$112,822	18%
2	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.19	$84,660	$88,004	22%
3	TennesseeState	1.18	$79,640	$87,038	19%
4	IndianaState	1.16	$77,270	$85,381	16%
5	WisconsinState	1.16	$78,690	$85,255	17%
6	CaliforniaState	1.14	$93,090	$84,092	29%
7	ColoradoState	1.14	$88,460	$83,928	25%
8	UtahState	1.12	$82,570	$82,405	22%
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$93,090	$79,906	29%
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$76,700	$78,909	25%
11	District of ColumbiaState	1.00	$84,040	$73,526	30%
12	MississippiState	1.00	$62,240	$73,396	17%
13	New YorkState	1.00	$82,930	$73,716	27%
14	MassachusettsState	0.98	$78,620	$72,461	34%
15	ConnecticutState	0.97	$77,070	$71,626	24%
16	GeorgiaState	0.97	$67,100	$71,842	25%
17	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$67,590	$70,553	27%
18	WashingtonState	0.95	$75,060	$69,953	30%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$78,760	$69,823	30%
20	IowaState	0.94	$61,740	$69,215	19%
21	MissouriState	0.94	$61,670	$69,605	20%
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$78,760	$69,392	39%
23	TexasState	0.93	$65,570	$68,588	25%
24	HawaiiState	0.92	$74,570	$67,791	38%
25	OhioState	0.92	$61,380	$67,898	20%
26	North CarolinaState	0.91	$63,380	$67,140	25%
27	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$64,440	$66,570	30%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$75,030	$65,643	35%
29	MichiganState	0.87	$59,400	$64,355	23%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.86	$61,160	$63,052	25%
31	Columbus, OHMetro	0.85	$58,490	$62,556	27%
32	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.85	$57,650	$62,324	25%
33	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.84	$66,800	$61,967	32%
34	OklahomaState	0.83	$54,250	$61,299	21%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.82	$64,300	$60,775	31%
36	MarylandState	0.80	$64,300	$58,883	31%
37	OregonState	0.80	$60,800	$59,029	31%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.80	$61,160	$59,092	31%
39	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.79	$52,900	$58,004	28%
40	FloridaState	0.77	$57,830	$56,975	36%
41	VirginiaState	0.77	$59,050	$57,053	32%
42	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$60,500	$55,760	40%
43	MontanaState	0.73	$51,530	$53,454	26%
44	IllinoisState	0.69	$49,270	$50,585	32%
45	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.68	$49,150	$49,898	42%
46	AlabamaState	0.66	$42,250	$48,507	27%

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