Best Cities for Orderliess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where orderliess 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.43	$65,790	$54,734	57%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.25	$47,510	$47,749	37%
3	VermontState	1.23	$48,120	$46,946	36%
4	MinnesotaState	1.19	$44,550	$45,459	34%
5	WashingtonState	1.19	$48,690	$45,377	47%
6	CaliforniaState	1.18	$49,920	$45,095	54%
7	WisconsinState	1.17	$41,380	$44,832	31%
8	OregonState	1.14	$45,120	$43,806	42%
9	DelawareState	1.13	$43,800	$43,366	37%
10	HawaiiState	1.12	$47,130	$42,845	61%
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.12	$49,760	$42,712	55%
12	IndianaState	1.11	$38,540	$42,586	33%
13	MaineState	1.11	$42,530	$42,615	37%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$43,570	$42,097	44%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$45,110	$41,846	48%
16	ColoradoState	1.08	$43,570	$41,338	51%
17	IowaState	1.08	$36,850	$41,312	31%
18	KansasState	1.08	$37,140	$41,267	33%
19	New YorkState	1.08	$46,600	$41,422	48%
20	North DakotaState	1.08	$38,240	$41,296	31%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$40,140	$41,381	39%
22	New MexicoState	1.07	$37,650	$40,924	33%
23	North CarolinaState	1.07	$38,680	$40,975	40%
24	OhioState	1.07	$37,030	$40,962	34%
25	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$37,740	$40,800	37%
26	IllinoisState	1.06	$39,450	$40,503	40%
27	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$46,560	$40,735	57%
28	IdahoState	1.05	$38,650	$40,052	37%
29	MissouriState	1.05	$35,620	$40,203	35%
30	WyomingState	1.05	$37,410	$40,226	32%
31	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$38,690	$40,386	47%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$37,150	$40,032	42%
33	KentuckyState	1.04	$35,260	$39,842	33%
34	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$39,830	$39,632	45%
35	South CarolinaState	1.04	$36,480	$39,652	41%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$37,360	$39,957	42%
37	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$38,630	$39,743	49%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$36,220	$39,715	40%
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$38,370	$39,886	49%
40	TexasState	1.03	$37,650	$39,383	44%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$36,210	$39,359	43%
42	MichiganState	1.02	$36,220	$39,242	37%
43	OklahomaState	1.02	$34,430	$38,904	34%
44	GeorgiaState	1.01	$36,100	$38,651	47%
45	New HampshireState	1.01	$40,850	$38,538	47%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$37,410	$38,647	52%
47	AlaskaState	0.99	$39,410	$37,785	42%
48	West VirginiaState	0.99	$31,770	$37,732	32%
49	ArizonaState	0.97	$37,380	$37,047	48%
50	ArkansasState	0.95	$31,540	$36,547	33%
51	AlabamaState	0.94	$31,310	$35,947	37%
52	MassachusettsState	0.94	$38,970	$35,917	69%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$35,410	$35,949	58%
54	NevadaState	0.93	$35,850	$35,778	49%
55	New JerseyState	0.93	$38,670	$35,542	56%
56	VirginiaState	0.93	$36,960	$35,710	51%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$37,760	$35,690	53%
58	MississippiState	0.92	$29,790	$35,130	36%
59	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$39,800	$35,066	77%
60	ConnecticutState	0.91	$37,550	$34,898	50%
61	FloridaState	0.91	$35,420	$34,897	58%
62	MarylandState	0.91	$38,210	$34,991	53%
63	TennesseeState	0.91	$31,840	$34,798	47%
64	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$39,160	$34,716	61%
65	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$39,250	$34,339	64%
66	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$35,770	$32,968	68%
67	LouisianaState	0.79	$27,330	$30,333	46%

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