Best Cities for Protective Service Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where protective 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	AlabamaState	2.33	$86,350	$99,139	13%
2	New HampshireState	1.97	$88,960	$83,925	21%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.82	$88,570	$77,489	28%
4	New MexicoState	1.66	$64,940	$70,587	19%
5	WisconsinState	1.47	$57,620	$62,427	23%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.47	$56,930	$62,423	26%
7	OklahomaState	1.39	$52,360	$59,164	22%
8	MississippiState	1.38	$49,800	$58,726	22%
9	North DakotaState	1.36	$53,460	$57,732	22%
10	VermontState	1.32	$57,490	$56,088	30%
11	MissouriState	1.31	$49,290	$55,632	25%
12	NevadaState	1.29	$54,790	$54,681	32%
13	Rhode IslandState	1.28	$54,630	$54,358	33%
14	MichiganState	1.27	$49,730	$53,879	27%
15	AlaskaState	1.26	$56,120	$53,806	29%
16	IndianaState	1.24	$47,930	$52,961	26%
17	KentuckyState	1.24	$46,580	$52,633	25%
18	HawaiiState	1.23	$57,370	$52,155	50%
19	West VirginiaState	1.22	$43,700	$51,900	23%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.22	$58,780	$52,110	41%
21	NebraskaState	1.21	$47,090	$51,464	27%
22	New JerseyState	1.19	$54,950	$50,506	39%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.19	$47,070	$50,722	33%
24	MaineState	1.18	$49,940	$50,040	31%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.18	$46,800	$50,053	33%
26	OhioState	1.17	$44,890	$49,657	28%
27	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.17	$52,780	$49,887	38%
28	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.17	$47,990	$49,886	39%
29	LouisianaState	1.16	$44,410	$49,290	28%
30	UtahState	1.16	$49,610	$49,511	36%
31	ArizonaState	1.14	$49,090	$48,652	37%
32	GeorgiaState	1.14	$45,200	$48,394	38%
33	MarylandState	1.14	$52,780	$48,333	38%
34	IdahoState	1.13	$46,580	$48,269	31%
35	OregonState	1.13	$49,520	$48,078	39%
36	South CarolinaState	1.13	$44,130	$47,967	34%
37	TennesseeState	1.13	$44,100	$48,197	34%
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.13	$52,190	$48,101	47%
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.12	$45,950	$47,469	42%
40	KansasState	1.10	$42,150	$46,833	29%
41	New YorkState	1.10	$52,690	$46,836	42%
42	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.10	$56,240	$46,789	67%
43	North CarolinaState	1.09	$43,740	$46,335	36%
44	South DakotaState	1.09	$42,260	$46,542	27%
45	MassachusettsState	1.08	$50,040	$46,120	54%
46	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$52,170	$45,965	59%
47	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$43,970	$45,898	41%
48	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$43,950	$44,171	40%
49	FloridaState	1.03	$44,310	$43,655	47%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.03	$43,240	$43,898	48%
51	MontanaState	1.02	$41,660	$43,216	32%
52	WyomingState	1.02	$40,330	$43,366	29%
53	IowaState	1.01	$38,160	$42,780	30%
54	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.00	$45,770	$42,458	47%
55	ColoradoState	0.99	$44,340	$42,068	50%
56	DelawareState	0.92	$39,520	$39,129	41%
57	IllinoisState	0.92	$38,020	$39,035	41%
58	MinnesotaState	0.92	$38,330	$39,112	40%
59	WashingtonState	0.92	$42,170	$39,301	54%
60	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$36,080	$39,005	39%
61	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.87	$42,170	$36,894	63%
62	ArkansasState	0.85	$31,270	$36,234	34%
63	CaliforniaState	0.84	$39,330	$35,528	69%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$34,610	$35,607	55%
65	PennsylvaniaState	0.83	$34,320	$35,381	45%
66	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.83	$32,470	$35,293	48%
67	ConnecticutState	0.82	$37,480	$34,833	50%
68	TexasState	0.82	$33,500	$35,042	50%
69	VirginiaState	0.80	$35,230	$34,039	54%
70	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.80	$35,060	$33,874	55%
71	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.75	$37,290	$32,009	73%

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