Best Cities for Rooferss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where rooferss 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	IllinoisState	1.44	$77,900	$79,979	20%
2	MinnesotaState	1.37	$74,490	$76,010	21%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.37	$75,400	$75,779	24%
4	New JerseyState	1.27	$76,600	$70,404	28%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.25	$63,390	$69,507	23%
6	MassachusettsState	1.21	$72,750	$67,051	37%
7	IndianaState	1.16	$57,980	$64,066	22%
8	MichiganState	1.16	$59,530	$64,496	23%
9	North DakotaState	1.16	$59,740	$64,514	20%
10	WisconsinState	1.16	$59,370	$64,323	22%
11	AlaskaState	1.15	$66,750	$63,998	25%
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$76,650	$63,769	49%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.14	$58,420	$62,953	26%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$61,630	$61,323	29%
15	MontanaState	1.10	$59,030	$61,234	23%
16	West VirginiaState	1.10	$51,170	$60,772	20%
17	IdahoState	1.08	$57,790	$59,886	25%
18	DelawareState	1.06	$59,440	$58,851	27%
19	New YorkState	1.06	$66,020	$58,684	34%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$66,350	$58,458	46%
21	CaliforniaState	1.04	$63,600	$57,453	43%
22	ConnecticutState	1.04	$62,070	$57,686	30%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$55,710	$57,433	28%
24	VermontState	1.04	$59,040	$57,600	29%
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$59,730	$57,710	32%
26	OregonState	1.03	$58,970	$57,252	32%
27	New HampshireState	1.02	$59,830	$56,443	32%
28	WashingtonState	1.02	$60,640	$56,514	38%
29	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$52,350	$56,595	27%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$61,210	$56,781	35%
31	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$64,090	$56,072	41%
32	ArkansasState	0.99	$47,470	$55,006	22%
33	MarylandState	0.99	$60,090	$55,027	34%
34	MissouriState	0.99	$48,570	$54,819	26%
35	OhioState	0.99	$49,390	$54,635	25%
36	HawaiiState	0.98	$59,580	$54,164	48%
37	IowaState	0.98	$48,660	$54,552	23%
38	LouisianaState	0.98	$48,760	$54,118	26%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$63,560	$54,558	43%
40	District of ColumbiaState	0.97	$61,750	$54,024	41%
41	KentuckyState	0.96	$46,940	$53,040	24%
42	MississippiState	0.96	$44,940	$52,995	24%
43	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$56,390	$53,299	36%
44	AlabamaState	0.95	$45,670	$52,434	25%
45	KansasState	0.95	$47,190	$52,433	26%
46	South DakotaState	0.95	$47,710	$52,544	24%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	0.95	$49,420	$52,856	31%
48	North CarolinaState	0.94	$49,010	$51,917	32%
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$58,340	$51,720	41%
50	NebraskaState	0.92	$46,460	$50,776	27%
51	NevadaState	0.92	$51,090	$50,988	34%
52	GeorgiaState	0.91	$46,940	$50,257	36%
53	MaineState	0.91	$50,120	$50,220	31%
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$49,100	$50,723	39%
55	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$48,410	$50,532	37%
56	South CarolinaState	0.90	$45,760	$49,739	33%
57	TennesseeState	0.90	$45,690	$49,934	33%
58	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.90	$48,120	$50,021	39%
59	ColoradoState	0.89	$51,750	$49,099	43%
60	New MexicoState	0.89	$45,300	$49,239	28%
61	OklahomaState	0.89	$43,680	$49,356	27%
62	WyomingState	0.89	$45,650	$49,086	26%
63	UtahState	0.88	$48,680	$48,583	37%
64	TexasState	0.87	$46,030	$48,149	36%
65	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.87	$46,990	$48,344	40%
66	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$43,720	$47,522	36%
67	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$47,170	$47,888	44%
68	ArizonaState	0.85	$47,340	$46,918	38%
69	FloridaState	0.85	$47,590	$46,887	43%
70	VirginiaState	0.84	$48,420	$46,783	39%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$48,030	$44,267	51%

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