Best Cities for Sales Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sales engineerss 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	DelawareState	1.33	$167,200	$165,545	10%
2	West VirginiaState	1.29	$135,260	$160,641	7%
3	ArkansasState	1.21	$130,760	$151,518	8%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$149,750	$149,005	12%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$177,490	$147,662	21%
6	MarylandState	1.12	$153,410	$140,485	13%
7	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.12	$128,170	$139,315	12%
8	WashingtonState	1.10	$147,620	$137,577	15%
9	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.10	$133,280	$137,119	14%
10	TexasState	1.09	$130,610	$136,621	13%
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$153,410	$136,002	16%
12	LouisianaState	1.08	$121,680	$135,050	10%
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$122,990	$134,857	12%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$153,560	$134,348	17%
15	ColoradoState	1.06	$139,990	$132,818	16%
16	IdahoState	1.06	$128,030	$132,674	11%
17	ArizonaState	1.05	$131,870	$130,694	14%
18	South DakotaState	1.05	$119,110	$131,178	10%
19	New MexicoState	1.04	$119,420	$129,804	11%
20	OklahomaState	1.04	$114,520	$129,401	10%
21	North CarolinaState	1.03	$121,530	$128,739	13%
22	New JerseyState	1.02	$139,010	$127,767	16%
23	WisconsinState	1.02	$117,970	$127,811	11%
24	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$121,980	$126,798	15%
25	CaliforniaState	1.01	$139,160	$125,709	20%
26	MassachusettsState	1.01	$136,200	$125,530	20%
27	OregonState	1.00	$128,170	$124,437	15%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$117,110	$125,251	13%
29	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$123,350	$125,228	17%
30	FloridaState	0.99	$125,530	$123,675	16%
31	MichiganState	0.99	$114,180	$123,705	12%
32	South CarolinaState	0.99	$114,250	$124,185	13%
33	New YorkState	0.98	$137,480	$122,204	16%
34	TennesseeState	0.98	$111,580	$121,945	14%
35	AlabamaState	0.96	$104,410	$119,874	11%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$136,620	$120,370	22%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$129,850	$120,455	17%
38	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$128,670	$118,590	19%
39	UtahState	0.94	$117,650	$117,415	15%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$122,690	$115,964	16%
41	ConnecticutState	0.92	$123,660	$114,926	15%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$110,610	$115,459	16%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.92	$133,380	$114,489	20%
44	VermontState	0.91	$116,790	$113,941	15%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.88	$101,640	$109,526	15%
46	KansasState	0.87	$98,000	$108,889	13%
47	OhioState	0.86	$97,420	$107,765	13%
48	GeorgiaState	0.85	$98,840	$105,824	17%
49	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.84	$97,430	$105,330	15%
50	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.83	$102,790	$103,307	17%
51	IllinoisState	0.82	$99,710	$102,372	16%
52	KentuckyState	0.82	$90,190	$101,910	13%
53	MinnesotaState	0.82	$100,570	$102,622	15%
54	MissouriState	0.82	$90,960	$102,664	14%
55	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.82	$99,230	$102,510	20%
56	New HampshireState	0.81	$107,850	$101,745	18%
57	PennsylvaniaState	0.81	$98,500	$101,546	16%
58	NebraskaState	0.79	$90,140	$98,514	14%
59	NevadaState	0.79	$99,020	$98,822	18%
60	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.79	$102,340	$98,879	19%
61	MaineState	0.76	$95,180	$95,371	16%
62	IowaState	0.75	$83,450	$93,554	14%
63	IndianaState	0.66	$74,960	$82,829	17%
64	AlaskaState	0.55	$71,080	$68,150	23%

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