Best Cities for Proofreaders and Copy Markerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where proofreaders and copy markerss 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	OhioState	1.20	$55,560	$61,460	23%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.17	$68,120	$59,598	37%
3	MissouriState	1.17	$52,920	$59,729	23%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.12	$66,620	$57,185	41%
5	KansasState	1.11	$51,160	$56,844	24%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$53,020	$54,773	37%
7	New YorkState	1.04	$59,740	$53,102	37%
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$54,900	$53,043	35%
9	GeorgiaState	1.03	$49,200	$52,677	35%
10	KentuckyState	1.03	$46,380	$52,407	25%
11	MassachusettsState	1.03	$57,160	$52,682	47%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.03	$52,250	$52,513	34%
13	CaliforniaState	1.02	$57,490	$51,933	47%
14	New JerseyState	1.02	$56,700	$52,114	38%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$48,370	$52,123	32%
16	IllinoisState	1.01	$50,060	$51,396	31%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$57,840	$50,960	53%
18	MinnesotaState	0.99	$49,450	$50,459	31%
19	IowaState	0.98	$44,680	$50,090	26%
20	WashingtonState	0.98	$53,890	$50,224	42%
21	MarylandState	0.97	$53,920	$49,377	37%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$45,740	$49,449	31%
23	North CarolinaState	0.96	$46,140	$48,877	34%
24	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$47,510	$48,979	33%
25	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$55,360	$49,078	43%
26	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$52,440	$48,332	47%
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$46,040	$48,058	39%
28	WisconsinState	0.92	$43,630	$47,270	30%
29	South CarolinaState	0.91	$42,900	$46,630	35%
30	VirginiaState	0.91	$48,090	$46,464	39%
31	IndianaState	0.88	$40,920	$45,215	31%
32	TexasState	0.86	$41,990	$43,923	40%
33	West VirginiaState	0.85	$36,730	$43,622	27%
34	UtahState	0.84	$42,840	$42,754	42%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$41,600	$42,798	46%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.84	$39,040	$42,807	37%
37	MichiganState	0.75	$35,530	$38,494	38%
38	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.70	$35,240	$35,777	59%
39	FloridaState	0.69	$35,610	$35,084	58%

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