Best Cities for Religious Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where religious 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	WashingtonState	1.29	$62,620	$58,360	36%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.21	$62,620	$54,786	42%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.18	$51,550	$53,254	38%
4	MissouriState	1.17	$46,780	$52,799	27%
5	GeorgiaState	1.16	$49,200	$52,677	35%
6	ArkansasState	1.15	$44,760	$51,866	24%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$46,720	$51,228	31%
8	MichiganState	1.12	$46,960	$50,878	29%
9	ArizonaState	1.11	$50,750	$50,297	35%
10	IowaState	1.09	$44,110	$49,451	26%
11	IllinoisState	1.07	$47,070	$48,326	33%
12	ColoradoState	1.06	$50,440	$47,856	44%
13	TennesseeState	1.06	$43,980	$48,066	34%
14	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$45,290	$47,079	41%
15	VirginiaState	1.03	$48,210	$46,580	39%
16	New YorkState	1.00	$51,150	$45,467	43%
17	OhioState	1.00	$40,780	$45,111	31%
18	MississippiState	0.97	$37,130	$43,785	29%
19	IndianaState	0.93	$38,130	$42,133	33%
20	District of ColumbiaState	0.92	$47,430	$41,496	53%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	0.92	$39,110	$41,829	40%
22	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.92	$49,830	$41,456	76%
23	CaliforniaState	0.91	$45,440	$41,048	60%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$47,940	$41,150	57%
25	New JerseyState	0.88	$43,480	$39,963	50%
26	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$38,490	$39,076	54%
27	KentuckyState	0.85	$34,090	$38,520	34%
28	MontanaState	0.85	$37,250	$38,641	36%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.85	$41,700	$38,683	52%
30	FloridaState	0.84	$38,490	$37,921	54%
31	TexasState	0.84	$36,420	$38,096	46%
32	MinnesotaState	0.83	$36,660	$37,408	42%
33	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.83	$37,420	$37,608	47%
34	ConnecticutState	0.81	$39,310	$36,533	48%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.81	$41,410	$36,711	58%
36	OregonState	0.79	$36,830	$35,757	52%
37	PennsylvaniaState	0.79	$34,580	$35,649	45%
38	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.79	$37,890	$35,813	53%
39	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.78	$38,510	$35,493	64%
40	MarylandState	0.77	$37,860	$34,670	53%
41	HawaiiState	0.76	$37,730	$34,300	76%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.69	$30,560	$31,440	62%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.69	$32,220	$31,130	59%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.57	$23,730	$25,654	60%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.55	$23,100	$24,892	67%

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