Best Cities for Recreation Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where recreation workerss 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	$57,580	$47,903	65%
2	South DakotaState	1.27	$42,270	$46,553	27%
3	WashingtonState	1.14	$44,890	$41,836	51%
4	District of ColumbiaState	1.11	$46,460	$40,647	54%
5	North DakotaState	1.10	$37,310	$40,292	31%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.10	$45,990	$40,236	57%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$42,580	$39,499	51%
8	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.07	$37,460	$38,940	50%
9	MissouriState	1.06	$34,320	$38,736	36%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$35,980	$38,897	39%
11	MinnesotaState	1.05	$37,510	$38,276	41%
12	OregonState	1.05	$39,610	$38,456	48%
13	WisconsinState	1.05	$35,530	$38,494	37%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$38,180	$38,372	47%
15	MichiganState	1.04	$35,090	$38,017	38%
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$42,800	$37,943	56%
17	IowaState	1.03	$33,700	$37,780	34%
18	MaineState	1.03	$37,450	$37,525	41%
19	NebraskaState	1.03	$34,590	$37,803	36%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$34,400	$37,719	42%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$35,090	$37,813	44%
22	HawaiiState	1.02	$41,000	$37,273	70%
23	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$36,080	$37,273	54%
24	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.02	$36,840	$37,401	56%
25	ColoradoState	1.01	$38,820	$36,831	57%
26	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$35,710	$36,814	44%
27	IllinoisState	1.00	$35,480	$36,427	44%
28	KentuckyState	1.00	$32,400	$36,610	35%
29	MontanaState	1.00	$35,090	$36,400	39%
30	TennesseeState	1.00	$33,580	$36,699	45%
31	VermontState	1.00	$37,450	$36,537	46%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.00	$33,780	$36,717	46%
33	Rhode IslandState	0.99	$36,340	$36,159	50%
34	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$33,690	$36,032	46%
35	AlaskaState	0.98	$37,510	$35,964	44%
36	CaliforniaState	0.98	$39,780	$35,935	68%
37	OhioState	0.98	$32,420	$35,863	39%
38	OklahomaState	0.98	$31,580	$35,684	37%
39	ArizonaState	0.97	$35,800	$35,481	50%
40	KansasState	0.97	$31,760	$35,289	39%
41	MassachusettsState	0.97	$38,540	$35,521	70%
42	West VirginiaState	0.97	$29,710	$35,285	34%
43	FloridaState	0.96	$35,490	$34,966	58%
44	New HampshireState	0.96	$37,040	$34,943	51%
45	GeorgiaState	0.95	$32,540	$34,839	52%
46	New MexicoState	0.95	$31,900	$34,674	39%
47	North CarolinaState	0.95	$32,720	$34,661	48%
48	VirginiaState	0.95	$36,120	$34,899	52%
49	TexasState	0.94	$32,720	$34,226	51%
50	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$35,710	$34,502	54%
51	ConnecticutState	0.93	$36,610	$34,024	51%
52	MarylandState	0.93	$37,200	$34,066	54%
53	New JerseyState	0.93	$36,880	$33,897	59%
54	South CarolinaState	0.93	$31,420	$34,152	48%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$35,780	$33,819	56%
56	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$38,770	$34,159	79%
57	DelawareState	0.92	$33,790	$33,455	48%
58	New YorkState	0.92	$38,040	$33,813	58%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$32,720	$33,663	58%
60	IndianaState	0.91	$30,190	$33,359	42%
61	MississippiState	0.91	$28,060	$33,090	38%
62	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$38,790	$33,296	70%
63	UtahState	0.90	$32,890	$32,824	54%
64	WyomingState	0.90	$30,720	$33,032	38%
65	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.90	$31,580	$32,965	57%
66	AlabamaState	0.89	$28,360	$32,560	41%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$35,460	$32,682	69%
68	ArkansasState	0.88	$27,770	$32,178	38%
69	LouisianaState	0.87	$28,580	$31,720	44%
70	IdahoState	0.85	$30,100	$31,192	48%
71	NevadaState	0.82	$30,150	$30,090	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).