Best Cities for Operations Research Analystss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where operations research analystss 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	AlabamaState	1.49	$115,630	$132,755	10%
2	VirginiaState	1.41	$129,460	$125,082	15%
3	ColoradoState	1.39	$129,880	$123,226	17%
4	OhioState	1.29	$103,620	$114,624	12%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.27	$127,600	$113,121	19%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.26	$104,970	$112,267	15%
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.23	$105,180	$109,791	17%
8	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.23	$106,380	$109,444	18%
9	MississippiState	1.22	$92,310	$108,856	12%
10	IdahoState	1.21	$103,600	$107,358	14%
11	NebraskaState	1.21	$98,300	$107,432	13%
12	North CarolinaState	1.16	$97,290	$103,061	16%
13	KansasState	1.15	$92,050	$102,278	13%
14	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$123,360	$102,629	31%
15	DelawareState	1.13	$101,070	$100,069	16%
16	MaineState	1.12	$99,460	$99,659	16%
17	OregonState	1.12	$102,170	$99,194	19%
18	MinnesotaState	1.10	$95,550	$97,500	16%
19	New YorkState	1.09	$108,610	$96,542	20%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$100,460	$97,063	19%
21	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$95,450	$95,930	19%
22	KentuckyState	1.07	$83,850	$94,746	14%
23	TexasState	1.07	$90,710	$94,885	18%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$102,480	$95,065	21%
25	IndianaState	1.06	$85,280	$94,232	15%
26	CaliforniaState	1.04	$102,100	$92,231	27%
27	IllinoisState	1.04	$89,800	$92,197	18%
28	HawaiiState	1.03	$100,600	$91,455	28%
29	WashingtonState	1.03	$98,030	$91,361	23%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$85,380	$92,004	18%
31	IowaState	1.02	$80,580	$90,336	14%
32	MichiganState	1.02	$83,480	$90,444	16%
33	ConnecticutState	1.01	$96,700	$89,870	19%
34	UtahState	1.01	$90,200	$90,020	20%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$81,590	$89,463	18%
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$102,930	$90,052	26%
37	MarylandState	1.00	$97,410	$89,203	21%
38	MassachusettsState	1.00	$96,500	$88,940	28%
39	North DakotaState	1.00	$82,460	$89,050	14%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$94,440	$89,263	21%
41	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$100,700	$88,722	30%
42	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$82,560	$89,254	17%
43	New MexicoState	0.98	$80,360	$87,348	16%
44	South CarolinaState	0.98	$80,240	$87,217	19%
45	VermontState	0.98	$89,790	$87,600	19%
46	NevadaState	0.97	$86,500	$86,327	20%
47	AlaskaState	0.96	$88,750	$85,091	18%
48	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.95	$98,270	$84,352	28%
49	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$96,030	$84,016	26%
50	MontanaState	0.94	$80,400	$83,402	17%
51	TennesseeState	0.94	$76,680	$83,803	20%
52	GeorgiaState	0.92	$76,220	$81,606	22%
53	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$79,640	$82,103	20%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$79,140	$82,266	24%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$79,940	$81,157	26%
56	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$77,510	$80,072	25%
57	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$72,890	$79,228	21%
58	Rhode IslandState	0.87	$77,910	$77,522	23%
59	WisconsinState	0.87	$71,820	$77,811	18%
60	FloridaState	0.86	$77,600	$76,453	27%
61	West VirginiaState	0.86	$64,100	$76,128	16%
62	ArizonaState	0.84	$75,470	$74,797	24%
63	LouisianaState	0.79	$63,210	$70,155	20%
64	MissouriState	0.79	$62,380	$70,406	20%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.79	$76,400	$70,415	32%
66	OklahomaState	0.78	$61,520	$69,514	19%
67	ArkansasState	0.77	$59,030	$68,401	18%

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