Best Cities for Tax Preparerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where tax preparerss 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	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.55	$78,920	$85,043	20%
2	MissouriState	1.29	$62,780	$70,858	20%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$81,180	$67,537	46%
4	UtahState	1.21	$66,720	$66,587	27%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.20	$61,140	$66,097	23%
6	MontanaState	1.19	$63,080	$65,436	21%
7	New YorkState	1.16	$71,850	$63,867	31%
8	CaliforniaState	1.15	$70,030	$63,261	39%
9	PennsylvaniaState	1.15	$61,270	$63,165	25%
10	WyomingState	1.14	$57,990	$62,355	20%
11	North DakotaState	1.12	$57,060	$61,620	21%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$60,650	$60,955	29%
13	IowaState	1.10	$53,660	$60,157	21%
14	MinnesotaState	1.10	$59,200	$60,408	26%
15	AlaskaState	1.09	$62,360	$59,789	26%
16	MississippiState	1.09	$50,670	$59,752	21%
17	NevadaState	1.09	$60,000	$59,880	29%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$62,010	$59,913	31%
19	ColoradoState	1.08	$62,620	$59,412	35%
20	OregonState	1.08	$61,370	$59,583	31%
21	New HampshireState	1.05	$61,370	$57,896	31%
22	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$57,680	$57,393	31%
23	South DakotaState	1.05	$52,530	$57,852	22%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$61,350	$56,911	35%
25	VirginiaState	1.03	$58,520	$56,541	32%
26	IllinoisState	1.02	$54,480	$55,934	29%
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$65,120	$55,897	42%
28	OhioState	0.99	$49,020	$54,226	26%
29	MassachusettsState	0.98	$58,400	$53,825	46%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$56,160	$53,081	36%
31	GeorgiaState	0.96	$49,330	$52,816	34%
32	KansasState	0.96	$47,300	$52,556	26%
33	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$59,630	$52,537	51%
34	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$50,350	$52,557	36%
35	DelawareState	0.94	$51,960	$51,446	31%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$50,070	$51,725	39%
37	North CarolinaState	0.93	$48,130	$50,985	32%
38	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$46,450	$50,932	31%
39	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$57,890	$51,321	41%
40	IndianaState	0.92	$45,710	$50,508	28%
41	MichiganState	0.92	$46,400	$50,271	29%
42	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$48,080	$49,979	39%
43	TexasState	0.90	$47,460	$49,644	35%
44	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$48,550	$49,289	43%
45	FloridaState	0.88	$49,020	$48,296	42%
46	OklahomaState	0.88	$42,700	$48,249	27%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$47,020	$48,374	40%
48	WisconsinState	0.87	$44,340	$48,039	29%
49	MaineState	0.86	$47,150	$47,244	33%
50	NebraskaState	0.86	$43,010	$47,005	29%
51	ArizonaState	0.81	$44,770	$44,371	40%
52	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$48,310	$44,525	51%
53	LouisianaState	0.78	$38,740	$42,997	32%
54	MarylandState	0.78	$47,020	$43,059	43%
55	South CarolinaState	0.78	$39,220	$42,630	38%
56	West VirginiaState	0.78	$35,880	$42,613	28%
57	WashingtonState	0.77	$45,370	$42,283	50%
58	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.76	$47,860	$41,872	55%
59	KentuckyState	0.75	$36,620	$41,379	31%
60	New MexicoState	0.75	$38,060	$41,370	33%
61	ArkansasState	0.74	$35,040	$40,603	30%
62	New JerseyState	0.73	$43,420	$39,908	50%
63	TennesseeState	0.73	$36,600	$40,000	41%
64	AlabamaState	0.70	$33,280	$38,209	35%
65	ConnecticutState	0.70	$41,130	$38,225	46%
66	HawaiiState	0.57	$34,720	$31,564	82%

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