Best Cities for Survey Researcherss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where survey researcherss 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	MichiganState	1.58	$101,550	$110,022	13%
2	MinnesotaState	1.53	$104,220	$106,347	15%
3	North CarolinaState	1.47	$96,560	$102,288	16%
4	WisconsinState	1.45	$92,660	$100,390	14%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.38	$92,160	$96,200	20%
6	IowaState	1.34	$83,170	$93,240	14%
7	WyomingState	1.31	$84,360	$90,710	14%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.31	$83,190	$91,217	18%
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$109,350	$90,973	34%
10	District of ColumbiaState	1.29	$102,390	$89,580	25%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$87,570	$88,010	20%
12	New JerseyState	1.26	$95,580	$87,849	23%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.25	$97,780	$86,684	24%
14	ColoradoState	1.23	$89,870	$85,266	25%
15	ConnecticutState	1.18	$88,320	$82,082	21%
16	UtahState	1.14	$79,090	$78,932	23%
17	MarylandState	1.11	$84,030	$76,951	24%
18	New YorkState	1.11	$86,890	$77,236	26%
19	CaliforniaState	1.09	$83,520	$75,447	33%
20	MissouriState	1.08	$66,460	$75,011	19%
21	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$69,100	$74,461	22%
22	TennesseeState	1.05	$66,900	$73,115	23%
23	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$70,400	$73,181	27%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$83,520	$71,691	33%
25	NebraskaState	1.02	$64,530	$70,525	19%
26	MassachusettsState	0.99	$74,890	$69,023	36%
27	AlaskaState	0.97	$70,560	$67,651	23%
28	New MexicoState	0.96	$61,380	$66,717	20%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.95	$74,890	$65,982	41%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$63,310	$65,268	25%
31	OklahomaState	0.93	$57,200	$64,633	20%
32	WashingtonState	0.93	$69,590	$64,856	33%
33	KansasState	0.92	$57,700	$64,111	22%
34	OhioState	0.92	$57,630	$63,750	22%
35	OregonState	0.90	$64,660	$62,777	30%
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$69,590	$60,884	38%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.86	$64,460	$59,796	33%
38	ArizonaState	0.84	$59,210	$58,682	30%
39	GeorgiaState	0.80	$51,590	$55,236	33%
40	IllinoisState	0.80	$54,080	$55,524	29%
41	TexasState	0.71	$47,330	$49,508	35%
42	MaineState	0.68	$47,330	$47,425	33%
43	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.56	$37,500	$38,580	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).