Best Cities for Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where office and administrative support workers, 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	IdahoState	1.39	$61,140	$63,358	24%
2	New MexicoState	1.35	$56,930	$61,880	22%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.31	$68,600	$60,017	37%
4	OklahomaState	1.30	$52,420	$59,232	22%
5	North DakotaState	1.28	$54,200	$58,531	22%
6	IowaState	1.27	$51,700	$57,960	22%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.27	$58,470	$58,179	31%
8	AlabamaState	1.26	$49,980	$57,382	23%
9	KentuckyState	1.24	$49,970	$56,463	23%
10	MississippiState	1.24	$47,940	$56,533	22%
11	MissouriState	1.23	$49,660	$56,050	25%
12	WyomingState	1.23	$52,420	$56,366	23%
13	South CarolinaState	1.22	$51,060	$55,500	29%
14	AlaskaState	1.21	$57,840	$55,455	28%
15	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.20	$52,570	$54,875	34%
16	IndianaState	1.18	$48,950	$54,088	26%
17	VermontState	1.14	$53,410	$52,107	32%
18	North CarolinaState	1.13	$48,890	$51,790	32%
19	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.13	$61,790	$51,406	61%
20	MichiganState	1.12	$47,210	$51,148	28%
21	VirginiaState	1.12	$53,170	$51,372	36%
22	ColoradoState	1.11	$53,460	$50,721	41%
23	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.11	$46,710	$50,772	34%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.11	$57,160	$50,674	42%
25	OregonState	1.10	$51,610	$50,107	37%
26	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$52,000	$50,242	37%
27	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$48,170	$49,660	32%
28	WisconsinState	1.09	$45,960	$49,794	28%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$53,550	$49,675	40%
30	DelawareState	1.08	$49,620	$49,129	33%
31	MontanaState	1.08	$47,570	$49,346	28%
32	CaliforniaState	1.07	$54,020	$48,799	50%
33	UtahState	1.06	$48,340	$48,244	37%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$46,690	$48,035	41%
35	NevadaState	1.04	$47,700	$47,605	37%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$45,780	$47,293	42%
37	New JerseyState	1.03	$51,120	$46,985	42%
38	WashingtonState	1.02	$50,190	$46,775	45%
39	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$42,880	$46,357	33%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$52,550	$46,300	58%
41	MaineState	1.00	$45,760	$45,852	34%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.00	$42,330	$45,614	36%
43	LouisianaState	0.99	$40,700	$45,172	31%
44	MarylandState	0.99	$49,260	$45,110	41%
45	TennesseeState	0.99	$41,570	$45,432	36%
46	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$48,010	$45,378	42%
47	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$52,780	$45,305	51%
48	ArkansasState	0.98	$38,530	$44,647	27%
49	TexasState	0.98	$42,840	$44,812	39%
50	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$42,840	$44,532	44%
51	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.97	$50,820	$44,462	52%
52	ArizonaState	0.95	$43,780	$43,389	41%
53	GeorgiaState	0.95	$40,330	$43,180	42%
54	IllinoisState	0.94	$42,030	$43,152	37%
55	NebraskaState	0.93	$38,840	$42,448	32%
56	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$45,420	$41,862	54%
57	MinnesotaState	0.84	$37,660	$38,429	41%
58	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.83	$37,660	$37,849	47%
59	ConnecticutState	0.82	$40,210	$37,370	47%
60	MassachusettsState	0.82	$40,810	$37,613	66%
61	New HampshireState	0.82	$39,690	$37,443	48%
62	FloridaState	0.79	$36,620	$36,079	56%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.75	$33,960	$34,477	61%
64	KansasState	0.73	$29,970	$33,300	41%
65	OhioState	0.73	$30,060	$33,252	42%
66	HawaiiState	0.69	$34,500	$31,364	83%
67	West VirginiaState	0.69	$26,580	$31,568	38%
68	Columbus, OHMetro	0.67	$28,450	$30,428	55%

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