Best Cities for Paperhangerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where paperhangerss 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	MissouriState	1.29	$59,560	$67,223	21%
2	PennsylvaniaState	1.22	$61,800	$63,711	25%
3	IndianaState	1.16	$54,810	$60,564	23%
4	CaliforniaState	1.09	$62,790	$56,721	43%
5	WisconsinState	1.07	$51,500	$55,796	25%
6	New YorkState	1.03	$60,230	$53,538	37%
7	OhioState	1.01	$47,830	$52,909	26%
8	North CarolinaState	0.99	$48,590	$51,472	32%
9	South CarolinaState	0.98	$46,800	$50,870	32%
10	TennesseeState	0.96	$46,010	$50,284	33%
11	FloridaState	0.92	$48,780	$48,059	42%
12	ColoradoState	0.88	$48,180	$45,712	46%
13	WashingtonState	0.83	$46,270	$43,122	49%

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