Best Cities for Public Relations Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where public relations specialistss 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	1.31	$117,620	$97,854	32%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.21	$101,680	$90,142	24%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.20	$102,740	$89,886	25%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.12	$96,000	$83,990	27%
5	WashingtonState	1.09	$87,470	$81,519	26%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$78,920	$81,529	25%
7	ConnecticutState	1.06	$84,990	$78,987	22%
8	GeorgiaState	1.05	$73,200	$78,373	23%
9	IllinoisState	1.05	$76,380	$78,419	21%
10	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$75,190	$78,486	24%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$73,280	$78,374	21%
12	VirginiaState	1.04	$80,380	$77,662	24%
13	CaliforniaState	1.03	$85,030	$76,811	32%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$77,540	$77,154	23%
15	ColoradoState	1.02	$80,680	$76,546	27%
16	North DakotaState	1.02	$70,280	$75,896	17%
17	ArkansasState	1.01	$65,000	$75,319	16%
18	DelawareState	1.01	$76,120	$75,366	21%
19	New MexicoState	1.00	$68,700	$74,674	18%
20	NevadaState	0.99	$73,840	$73,693	24%
21	New JerseyState	0.99	$80,130	$73,649	27%
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$73,780	$74,151	24%
23	MassachusettsState	0.98	$79,660	$73,419	34%
24	OklahomaState	0.98	$64,920	$73,356	18%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$77,570	$73,318	26%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.98	$68,050	$73,330	23%
27	MarylandState	0.97	$79,560	$72,857	25%
28	New YorkState	0.97	$81,250	$72,222	27%
29	OregonState	0.97	$74,900	$72,718	26%
30	WisconsinState	0.97	$67,240	$72,849	19%
31	WyomingState	0.97	$67,490	$72,570	18%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.97	$66,100	$72,478	22%
33	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$78,380	$72,709	27%
34	IndianaState	0.96	$64,900	$71,713	19%
35	KansasState	0.96	$64,860	$72,067	19%
36	OhioState	0.96	$64,840	$71,726	19%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$81,440	$71,753	38%
38	AlabamaState	0.95	$61,710	$70,850	19%
39	MichiganState	0.95	$65,300	$70,748	21%
40	North CarolinaState	0.95	$67,230	$71,218	23%
41	South DakotaState	0.95	$64,520	$71,057	18%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$69,280	$71,276	27%
43	IowaState	0.94	$62,970	$70,594	18%
44	MinnesotaState	0.94	$68,620	$70,020	22%
45	MississippiState	0.94	$59,810	$70,531	18%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$64,690	$70,315	24%
47	MissouriState	0.92	$61,130	$68,995	20%
48	New HampshireState	0.92	$73,280	$69,132	26%
49	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$79,860	$68,549	34%
50	KentuckyState	0.91	$60,150	$67,966	19%
51	South CarolinaState	0.91	$62,730	$68,185	24%
52	TexasState	0.91	$65,160	$68,159	26%
53	AlaskaState	0.90	$70,050	$67,162	23%
54	LouisianaState	0.90	$60,470	$67,114	21%
55	NebraskaState	0.90	$61,780	$67,519	20%
56	West VirginiaState	0.90	$56,730	$67,375	18%
57	MontanaState	0.89	$63,780	$66,162	21%
58	TennesseeState	0.89	$60,900	$66,557	25%
59	ArizonaState	0.88	$66,710	$66,115	27%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$64,690	$65,675	32%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$62,870	$65,353	30%
62	VermontState	0.86	$66,060	$64,449	26%
63	IdahoState	0.85	$61,110	$63,326	24%
64	FloridaState	0.84	$63,660	$62,719	32%
65	MaineState	0.84	$62,450	$62,575	25%
66	UtahState	0.84	$62,670	$62,545	29%
67	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.83	$64,550	$62,367	30%
68	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.81	$55,910	$60,443	25%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$64,600	$59,539	38%
70	PennsylvaniaState	0.79	$57,460	$59,237	27%
71	HawaiiState	0.78	$63,880	$58,073	45%

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