Best Cities for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Services

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where switchboard operators, including answering services 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.71	$79,260	$65,940	48%
2	HawaiiState	1.41	$59,860	$54,418	48%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.35	$51,950	$52,211	34%
4	MinnesotaState	1.25	$47,430	$48,398	32%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.24	$54,700	$47,857	46%
6	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.16	$41,470	$44,688	37%
7	WashingtonState	1.15	$47,800	$44,548	48%
8	West VirginiaState	1.15	$37,430	$44,454	27%
9	CaliforniaState	1.14	$48,840	$44,119	56%
10	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.14	$42,320	$44,175	43%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$50,470	$44,156	52%
12	IllinoisState	1.13	$42,660	$43,799	37%
13	MaineState	1.12	$43,350	$43,437	36%
14	WisconsinState	1.12	$40,030	$43,369	33%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$39,910	$43,146	35%
16	IowaState	1.11	$38,400	$43,049	30%
17	KansasState	1.11	$38,760	$43,067	32%
18	KentuckyState	1.10	$37,590	$42,475	31%
19	GeorgiaState	1.09	$39,490	$42,281	43%
20	MissouriState	1.08	$37,130	$41,907	33%
21	New HampshireState	1.08	$44,210	$41,708	43%
22	VermontState	1.08	$42,630	$41,590	40%
23	ColoradoState	1.07	$43,720	$41,480	51%
24	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$39,930	$41,250	49%
25	ArkansasState	1.06	$35,290	$40,892	30%
26	NebraskaState	1.06	$37,570	$41,060	33%
27	New MexicoState	1.06	$37,710	$40,989	33%
28	North CarolinaState	1.06	$38,520	$40,805	41%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$37,470	$41,086	39%
30	IndianaState	1.05	$36,860	$40,729	34%
31	MichiganState	1.05	$37,390	$40,509	36%
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$45,750	$40,559	52%
33	ArizonaState	1.04	$40,380	$40,020	45%
34	MassachusettsState	1.04	$43,790	$40,359	62%
35	New YorkState	1.04	$45,330	$40,293	49%
36	OhioState	1.04	$36,350	$40,210	34%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$45,760	$40,317	67%
38	LouisianaState	1.03	$35,890	$39,834	35%
39	OklahomaState	1.03	$35,280	$39,864	33%
40	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$39,850	$39,652	45%
41	IdahoState	1.02	$38,000	$39,378	38%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$45,870	$39,373	59%
43	TennesseeState	1.01	$35,550	$38,852	42%
44	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$37,050	$38,514	50%
45	NevadaState	0.98	$38,070	$37,994	46%
46	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$36,890	$38,031	42%
47	MontanaState	0.97	$36,270	$37,624	37%
48	Columbus, OHMetro	0.97	$35,170	$37,615	44%
49	AlabamaState	0.96	$32,210	$36,980	36%
50	New JerseyState	0.96	$40,430	$37,160	53%
51	South CarolinaState	0.96	$34,010	$36,967	44%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$38,410	$37,111	50%
53	AlaskaState	0.94	$37,690	$36,136	43%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$35,390	$36,409	54%
55	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$33,320	$36,217	47%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$35,830	$36,376	58%
57	MississippiState	0.93	$30,520	$35,991	35%
58	ConnecticutState	0.92	$38,380	$35,669	49%
59	DelawareState	0.92	$35,980	$35,624	45%
60	VirginiaState	0.92	$36,730	$35,488	51%
61	TexasState	0.91	$33,620	$35,167	49%
62	FloridaState	0.90	$35,410	$34,887	58%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.89	$36,260	$34,272	56%
64	MarylandState	0.88	$37,080	$33,956	54%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$35,080	$32,332	70%

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