Best Cities for Set and Exhibit Designerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where set and exhibit designerss 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	CaliforniaState	1.26	$105,030	$94,878	26%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.22	$106,880	$91,742	25%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.11	$80,960	$83,636	24%
4	NebraskaState	1.07	$73,980	$80,852	17%
5	IndianaState	1.06	$72,200	$79,779	18%
6	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$80,280	$75,879	25%
7	MarylandState	0.98	$80,540	$73,755	25%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$82,960	$73,546	29%
9	GeorgiaState	0.96	$67,210	$71,959	25%
10	WashingtonState	0.96	$77,230	$71,976	29%
11	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$76,350	$70,369	32%
12	New JerseyState	0.93	$76,380	$70,202	28%
13	MassachusettsState	0.91	$74,540	$68,700	36%
14	MinnesotaState	0.90	$66,090	$67,439	23%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$77,230	$67,568	34%
16	District of ColumbiaState	0.89	$76,900	$67,279	33%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.88	$65,960	$66,291	27%
18	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$74,710	$65,824	41%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	0.85	$59,550	$63,690	26%
20	PennsylvaniaState	0.82	$59,670	$61,515	26%
21	OregonState	0.81	$62,770	$60,942	30%
22	FloridaState	0.80	$60,750	$59,852	34%
23	KentuckyState	0.80	$53,260	$60,181	22%
24	OhioState	0.80	$54,560	$60,354	23%
25	TexasState	0.79	$56,930	$59,550	29%
26	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.78	$56,930	$58,570	33%
27	MissouriState	0.77	$51,610	$58,251	24%
28	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.77	$59,670	$57,652	32%
29	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.77	$62,770	$58,228	34%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.76	$53,310	$57,446	29%
31	ConnecticutState	0.75	$60,680	$56,394	31%
32	IowaState	0.75	$50,640	$56,771	23%
33	VirginiaState	0.75	$58,650	$56,667	32%
34	MichiganState	0.73	$50,910	$55,157	26%
35	North CarolinaState	0.70	$49,410	$52,341	32%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.70	$52,130	$52,924	40%
37	NevadaState	0.67	$50,860	$50,758	34%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.67	$45,640	$50,044	32%
39	ArizonaState	0.61	$46,280	$45,867	39%
40	ArkansasState	0.60	$38,700	$44,844	27%
41	UtahState	0.59	$44,540	$44,451	40%

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