Best Cities for Public Relations Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where public relations managerss 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	1.21	$213,510	$177,629	18%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.18	$197,600	$172,878	13%
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.18	$195,190	$173,041	12%
4	VirginiaState	1.16	$176,340	$170,377	11%
5	MaineState	1.14	$166,940	$167,275	9%
6	New JerseyState	1.09	$174,980	$160,827	12%
7	New YorkState	1.09	$180,880	$160,782	12%
8	MassachusettsState	1.08	$171,740	$158,286	16%
9	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$156,080	$155,303	12%
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$176,390	$155,410	17%
11	ColoradoState	1.05	$162,870	$154,526	14%
12	CaliforniaState	1.03	$167,980	$151,743	16%
13	DelawareState	1.03	$153,010	$151,495	11%
14	WashingtonState	1.01	$159,440	$148,593	14%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$166,590	$145,748	16%
16	ConnecticutState	0.98	$154,210	$143,318	12%
17	GeorgiaState	0.98	$134,500	$144,004	13%
18	KansasState	0.98	$129,760	$144,178	10%
19	MinnesotaState	0.97	$139,040	$141,878	11%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$141,360	$142,070	13%
21	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$136,490	$141,002	14%
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$134,990	$140,908	13%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$131,190	$141,369	12%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$163,830	$140,627	17%
25	North CarolinaState	0.95	$132,280	$140,127	12%
26	TennesseeState	0.95	$127,390	$139,224	12%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.94	$125,650	$137,774	12%
28	MarylandState	0.93	$149,380	$136,795	13%
29	IllinoisState	0.92	$131,990	$135,513	12%
30	IowaState	0.92	$120,730	$135,348	9%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$130,950	$134,722	15%
32	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$132,340	$134,355	16%
33	TexasState	0.90	$126,670	$132,500	13%
34	UtahState	0.90	$132,670	$132,405	13%
35	Columbus, OHMetro	0.90	$123,970	$132,588	13%
36	OhioState	0.89	$118,670	$131,272	11%
37	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.89	$138,650	$131,049	15%
38	MissouriState	0.88	$114,710	$129,470	11%
39	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.88	$140,110	$129,972	15%
40	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$119,580	$129,978	13%
41	MichiganState	0.87	$117,900	$127,736	11%
42	OregonState	0.87	$131,190	$127,369	15%
43	FloridaState	0.86	$127,550	$125,665	16%
44	IndianaState	0.86	$114,960	$127,028	11%
45	KentuckyState	0.86	$112,320	$126,915	10%
46	New HampshireState	0.85	$132,660	$125,151	14%
47	New MexicoState	0.85	$115,260	$125,283	11%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.85	$129,280	$124,908	15%
49	North DakotaState	0.84	$114,110	$123,229	10%
50	WisconsinState	0.84	$113,980	$123,489	11%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.83	$118,050	$121,701	13%
52	ArkansasState	0.82	$104,170	$120,707	10%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$129,830	$119,659	19%
54	AlaskaState	0.79	$120,920	$115,935	14%
55	MississippiState	0.78	$97,160	$114,575	11%
56	NebraskaState	0.78	$104,440	$114,142	12%
57	NevadaState	0.78	$114,130	$113,902	15%
58	South CarolinaState	0.78	$104,920	$114,043	14%
59	AlabamaState	0.77	$98,210	$112,755	12%
60	ArizonaState	0.77	$114,400	$113,380	16%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.77	$108,390	$112,672	17%
62	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.77	$104,640	$113,124	14%
63	OklahomaState	0.74	$96,030	$108,508	12%
64	LouisianaState	0.71	$94,380	$104,750	13%
65	MontanaState	0.71	$99,990	$103,724	14%
66	IdahoState	0.69	$98,160	$101,720	15%
67	West VirginiaState	0.67	$82,380	$97,838	12%
68	HawaiiState	0.65	$105,010	$95,464	27%

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