Best Cities for Personal Care and Service Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where personal care and service 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	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.40	$53,580	$58,239	29%
2	South DakotaState	1.35	$50,990	$56,156	23%
3	ArizonaState	1.16	$48,900	$48,464	37%
4	South CarolinaState	1.16	$44,550	$48,424	34%
5	IllinoisState	1.05	$42,450	$43,583	37%
6	IdahoState	1.04	$41,600	$43,109	35%
7	MassachusettsState	1.04	$46,780	$43,115	58%
8	New MexicoState	1.03	$39,440	$42,870	32%
9	MaineState	0.98	$40,800	$40,882	38%
10	OregonState	0.97	$41,600	$40,388	46%
11	KansasState	0.96	$35,970	$39,967	35%
12	KentuckyState	0.95	$35,140	$39,706	33%
13	West VirginiaState	0.95	$33,320	$39,572	30%
14	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$37,970	$39,470	49%
15	TexasState	0.94	$37,440	$39,163	44%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$37,500	$39,144	48%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.93	$41,600	$38,590	52%
18	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.93	$46,430	$38,627	81%
19	District of ColumbiaState	0.92	$43,880	$38,390	57%
20	WashingtonState	0.92	$41,020	$38,229	56%
21	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$36,800	$37,360	56%
22	North DakotaState	0.89	$34,430	$37,181	34%
23	UtahState	0.89	$36,920	$36,846	48%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$43,160	$37,047	63%
25	LouisianaState	0.88	$33,060	$36,693	38%
26	ArkansasState	0.87	$31,200	$36,153	34%
27	CaliforniaState	0.87	$39,860	$36,007	68%
28	ColoradoState	0.87	$37,930	$35,987	58%
29	DelawareState	0.87	$36,380	$36,020	45%
30	New JerseyState	0.87	$39,210	$36,039	55%
31	New YorkState	0.87	$40,720	$36,196	54%
32	WisconsinState	0.87	$33,280	$36,056	39%
33	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.86	$41,020	$35,888	64%
34	North CarolinaState	0.85	$33,290	$35,265	47%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.85	$37,430	$35,378	54%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.85	$32,150	$35,252	45%
37	IowaState	0.84	$31,200	$34,978	37%
38	MichiganState	0.84	$32,150	$34,832	42%
39	NevadaState	0.84	$34,960	$34,890	50%
40	TennesseeState	0.84	$32,070	$35,049	47%
41	FloridaState	0.83	$35,150	$34,631	59%
42	MarylandState	0.82	$37,440	$34,286	54%
43	ConnecticutState	0.81	$36,130	$33,578	52%
44	MissouriState	0.81	$29,700	$33,521	42%
45	VermontState	0.81	$34,650	$33,805	49%
46	NebraskaState	0.79	$30,120	$32,918	42%
47	VirginiaState	0.79	$33,910	$32,763	56%
48	MinnesotaState	0.78	$31,700	$32,347	48%
49	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.78	$36,860	$32,476	83%
50	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.77	$29,700	$32,004	52%
51	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$34,830	$32,101	70%
52	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.77	$31,700	$31,859	56%
53	OhioState	0.76	$28,600	$31,637	44%
54	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.76	$32,720	$31,614	59%
55	HawaiiState	0.75	$34,180	$31,073	84%
56	Columbus, OHMetro	0.75	$29,240	$31,273	53%
57	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.75	$35,300	$31,294	68%
58	IndianaState	0.74	$27,790	$30,707	46%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.71	$28,540	$29,362	67%
60	New HampshireState	0.68	$30,010	$28,311	63%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.68	$27,590	$28,443	56%
62	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.67	$25,970	$28,076	54%
63	AlabamaState	0.65	$23,590	$27,084	49%
64	GeorgiaState	0.65	$25,130	$26,906	68%
65	MississippiState	0.62	$21,970	$25,908	49%
66	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.59	$23,850	$24,638	81%

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