Best Cities for Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewerss 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	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.32	$57,020	$55,092	34%
2	MissouriState	1.31	$48,240	$54,447	26%
3	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.30	$49,610	$53,924	32%
4	New YorkState	1.29	$60,210	$53,520	37%
5	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.27	$51,380	$53,079	38%
6	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.25	$48,310	$52,227	29%
7	WashingtonState	1.22	$54,300	$50,606	42%
8	District of ColumbiaState	1.21	$57,720	$50,499	44%
9	PennsylvaniaState	1.20	$48,310	$49,804	32%
10	NevadaState	1.18	$49,150	$49,052	35%
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$59,020	$49,101	64%
12	HawaiiState	1.17	$53,680	$48,800	53%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.17	$55,000	$48,759	44%
14	ColoradoState	1.16	$51,110	$48,491	43%
15	UtahState	1.15	$48,040	$47,944	37%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.14	$45,510	$47,505	40%
17	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$54,300	$47,507	49%
18	MinnesotaState	1.13	$46,180	$47,122	33%
19	New MexicoState	1.13	$43,350	$47,120	29%
20	WisconsinState	1.13	$43,300	$46,912	30%
21	MassachusettsState	1.12	$50,470	$46,516	54%
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.12	$46,260	$46,492	38%
23	GeorgiaState	1.11	$43,260	$46,317	39%
24	OregonState	1.11	$47,450	$46,068	40%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.09	$48,200	$45,558	42%
26	VirginiaState	1.07	$46,060	$44,502	41%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$50,470	$44,467	61%
28	DelawareState	1.06	$44,450	$44,010	37%
29	MarylandState	1.06	$48,200	$44,139	42%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$47,590	$44,147	45%
31	North CarolinaState	1.05	$41,260	$43,708	38%
32	IllinoisState	1.04	$42,330	$43,460	37%
33	New HampshireState	1.04	$45,970	$43,368	41%
34	NebraskaState	1.01	$38,380	$41,945	33%
35	TennesseeState	1.01	$38,650	$42,240	39%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$39,080	$41,797	40%
37	OhioState	0.99	$37,170	$41,117	34%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.99	$37,500	$41,118	39%
39	MichiganState	0.98	$37,500	$40,628	36%
40	IndianaState	0.97	$36,450	$40,276	35%
41	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$43,870	$40,433	56%
42	ArizonaState	0.96	$40,360	$40,000	45%
43	CaliforniaState	0.96	$44,360	$40,072	61%
44	New JerseyState	0.95	$43,150	$39,660	50%
45	FloridaState	0.94	$39,790	$39,202	52%
46	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$38,080	$39,177	50%
47	TexasState	0.91	$36,260	$37,929	46%
48	ConnecticutState	0.89	$40,000	$37,175	47%
49	LouisianaState	0.89	$33,560	$37,248	37%
50	KentuckyState	0.88	$32,530	$36,757	35%
51	AlabamaState	0.86	$31,200	$35,821	37%
52	ArkansasState	0.86	$30,990	$35,910	34%
53	MontanaState	0.86	$34,710	$36,006	39%
54	South CarolinaState	0.86	$33,030	$35,902	46%
55	IowaState	0.85	$31,680	$35,516	36%
56	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.83	$40,080	$34,403	68%
57	KansasState	0.72	$27,110	$30,122	46%
58	MississippiState	0.72	$25,340	$29,882	42%
59	OklahomaState	0.71	$26,300	$29,718	44%

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