Best Cities for Public Safety Telecommunicatorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where public safety telecommunicatorss 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	1.78	$113,800	$94,676	33%
2	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.42	$81,160	$75,288	27%
3	WashingtonState	1.39	$78,850	$73,486	29%
4	CaliforniaState	1.36	$80,120	$72,376	34%
5	OregonState	1.32	$71,980	$69,883	27%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$80,180	$70,149	33%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.31	$69,220	$69,568	26%
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.30	$80,370	$68,987	34%
9	MinnesotaState	1.28	$66,550	$67,908	23%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.26	$62,490	$66,834	25%
11	WisconsinState	1.23	$60,000	$65,005	22%
12	North DakotaState	1.22	$59,940	$64,730	20%
13	OhioState	1.21	$58,100	$64,270	22%
14	AlaskaState	1.20	$66,660	$63,912	25%
15	IowaState	1.20	$56,770	$63,643	20%
16	IllinoisState	1.19	$61,260	$62,895	26%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.18	$57,130	$62,643	26%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$57,880	$62,573	24%
19	ColoradoState	1.14	$63,520	$60,266	35%
20	NevadaState	1.13	$60,040	$59,920	29%
21	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.13	$58,280	$59,959	33%
22	ConnecticutState	1.09	$62,410	$58,002	30%
23	MichiganState	1.09	$53,310	$57,757	25%
24	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$58,310	$58,020	31%
25	VermontState	1.09	$59,470	$58,020	29%
26	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.09	$61,080	$57,732	33%
27	MaineState	1.08	$57,250	$57,365	27%
28	MassachusettsState	1.07	$61,720	$56,885	44%
29	ArizonaState	1.06	$56,600	$56,095	32%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$51,940	$55,970	30%
31	NebraskaState	1.04	$50,270	$54,940	25%
32	New HampshireState	1.04	$58,240	$54,943	33%
33	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$62,660	$55,207	49%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$56,960	$55,034	34%
35	New JerseyState	1.03	$59,240	$54,449	36%
36	New YorkState	1.03	$61,450	$54,622	36%
37	WyomingState	1.03	$50,600	$54,409	23%
38	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$50,040	$54,391	31%
39	IndianaState	1.02	$49,050	$54,199	26%
40	MarylandState	1.02	$58,910	$53,947	34%
41	UtahState	1.02	$54,120	$54,012	33%
42	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$53,040	$53,848	39%
43	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$61,260	$54,309	39%
44	IdahoState	1.01	$51,780	$53,658	28%
45	New MexicoState	1.01	$49,060	$53,326	26%
46	MissouriState	1.00	$46,990	$53,036	26%
47	DelawareState	0.99	$53,140	$52,614	31%
48	South DakotaState	0.99	$47,900	$52,753	24%
49	TexasState	0.99	$50,040	$52,343	33%
50	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.99	$57,110	$52,636	43%
51	HawaiiState	0.98	$57,020	$51,836	50%
52	District of ColumbiaState	0.97	$59,080	$51,689	43%
53	KentuckyState	0.97	$45,670	$51,605	25%
54	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$49,890	$51,433	31%
55	TennesseeState	0.96	$46,390	$50,699	32%
56	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$49,170	$50,795	39%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$48,920	$50,852	38%
58	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$48,080	$50,188	37%
59	KansasState	0.94	$45,110	$50,122	28%
60	FloridaState	0.93	$50,170	$49,429	41%
61	MontanaState	0.93	$47,640	$49,419	28%
62	North CarolinaState	0.93	$46,550	$49,311	34%
63	VirginiaState	0.92	$50,490	$48,783	37%
64	West VirginiaState	0.91	$40,490	$48,088	25%
65	South CarolinaState	0.89	$43,540	$47,326	35%
66	GeorgiaState	0.86	$42,790	$45,814	40%
67	OklahomaState	0.85	$39,890	$45,073	29%
68	AlabamaState	0.84	$38,960	$44,730	30%
69	ArkansasState	0.84	$38,240	$44,311	28%
70	LouisianaState	0.81	$38,550	$42,786	33%
71	MississippiState	0.77	$34,510	$40,696	31%

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