Best Cities for Technical Writerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where technical writerss 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	1.29	$140,700	$117,055	27%
2	New JerseyState	1.24	$122,320	$112,426	18%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.14	$117,810	$103,071	21%
4	New MexicoState	1.14	$94,970	$103,228	13%
5	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$102,360	$101,851	18%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$92,390	$101,305	16%
7	MassachusettsState	1.11	$109,200	$100,645	25%
8	AlabamaState	1.09	$85,840	$98,553	13%
9	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$111,750	$98,458	27%
10	WashingtonState	1.07	$104,070	$96,990	22%
11	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$102,140	$96,541	20%
12	ColoradoState	1.06	$100,610	$95,455	22%
13	ConnecticutState	1.05	$101,870	$94,675	18%
14	CaliforniaState	1.04	$104,000	$93,948	26%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$107,580	$94,121	25%
16	MarylandState	1.02	$100,990	$92,482	20%
17	MichiganState	1.02	$85,270	$92,384	16%
18	IllinoisState	1.01	$88,700	$91,068	18%
19	KentuckyState	1.01	$81,070	$91,605	14%
20	MissouriState	1.01	$80,840	$91,242	15%
21	New HampshireState	1.01	$96,300	$90,849	20%
22	North CarolinaState	1.01	$86,320	$91,441	18%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$87,620	$90,330	18%
24	VirginiaState	1.00	$93,600	$90,435	20%
25	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$89,210	$90,569	23%
26	DelawareState	0.99	$90,370	$89,475	18%
27	South CarolinaState	0.99	$82,540	$89,717	18%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$104,000	$89,270	26%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$92,330	$89,208	21%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$82,520	$89,696	19%
31	NevadaState	0.98	$88,750	$88,573	20%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$86,520	$89,012	22%
33	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$99,910	$88,573	24%
34	New YorkState	0.97	$98,310	$87,387	23%
35	TennesseeState	0.96	$79,550	$86,940	19%
36	TexasState	0.96	$82,750	$86,559	20%
37	WisconsinState	0.96	$80,030	$86,706	16%
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.96	$86,340	$86,774	21%
39	VermontState	0.95	$87,860	$85,717	19%
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$82,610	$86,232	22%
41	FloridaState	0.94	$86,240	$84,966	24%
42	MinnesotaState	0.94	$83,270	$84,969	18%
43	OhioState	0.94	$76,480	$84,602	16%
44	Columbus, OHMetro	0.93	$78,870	$84,353	20%
45	IndianaState	0.92	$75,510	$83,436	17%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$76,590	$82,532	20%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$79,550	$82,692	23%
48	KansasState	0.90	$73,550	$81,722	17%
49	OregonState	0.90	$84,000	$81,553	23%
50	UtahState	0.89	$80,270	$80,110	22%
51	AlaskaState	0.88	$83,200	$79,770	20%
52	ArizonaState	0.87	$79,780	$79,068	23%
53	GeorgiaState	0.87	$73,070	$78,233	23%
54	North DakotaState	0.87	$72,990	$78,823	16%
55	OklahomaState	0.87	$69,760	$78,825	17%
56	MontanaState	0.86	$75,070	$77,873	18%
57	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$75,140	$77,624	26%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$84,750	$78,111	29%
59	MississippiState	0.85	$65,220	$76,910	16%
60	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.84	$81,540	$75,640	26%
61	IowaState	0.83	$66,520	$74,574	17%
62	ArkansasState	0.78	$61,180	$70,892	17%
63	LouisianaState	0.78	$63,790	$70,799	20%
64	South DakotaState	0.77	$63,350	$69,769	18%

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