Best Cities for Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searcherss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where title examiners, abstractors, and searcherss 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	West VirginiaState	1.56	$77,230	$91,722	13%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.34	$94,710	$78,794	40%
3	OregonState	1.27	$76,930	$74,689	25%
4	ColoradoState	1.26	$77,600	$73,624	29%
5	AlaskaState	1.24	$75,960	$72,828	22%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.22	$76,970	$71,401	28%
7	NevadaState	1.21	$71,050	$70,908	25%
8	AlabamaState	1.20	$61,330	$70,413	19%
9	South DakotaState	1.11	$59,300	$65,308	19%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$60,970	$65,209	25%
11	DelawareState	1.10	$65,270	$64,624	25%
12	North DakotaState	1.10	$59,980	$64,773	20%
13	IdahoState	1.09	$61,730	$63,969	23%
14	MassachusettsState	1.09	$69,100	$63,687	39%
15	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.09	$61,510	$64,207	29%
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.08	$61,530	$63,302	31%
17	New MexicoState	1.07	$57,940	$62,978	22%
18	OhioState	1.07	$56,680	$62,699	22%
19	Rhode IslandState	1.07	$63,300	$62,985	29%
20	TexasState	1.07	$60,120	$62,887	28%
21	UtahState	1.06	$62,210	$62,086	29%
22	WashingtonState	1.06	$66,440	$61,920	34%
23	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$71,310	$62,388	37%
24	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$59,130	$61,466	32%
25	CaliforniaState	1.04	$67,230	$60,732	40%
26	KansasState	1.04	$54,640	$60,711	23%
27	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$55,870	$60,728	28%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$68,400	$60,264	45%
29	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$55,940	$60,280	28%
30	KentuckyState	1.02	$52,860	$59,729	22%
31	MinnesotaState	1.01	$58,250	$59,439	26%
32	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$58,980	$59,276	30%
33	ConnecticutState	1.00	$62,940	$58,494	30%
34	New HampshireState	1.00	$62,090	$58,575	31%
35	FloridaState	0.98	$58,450	$57,586	35%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$56,880	$57,746	36%
37	New JerseyState	0.97	$61,930	$56,921	35%
38	OklahomaState	0.97	$50,270	$56,802	23%
39	MississippiState	0.95	$47,060	$55,495	23%
40	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.95	$51,030	$55,954	29%
41	ArkansasState	0.94	$47,510	$55,052	22%
42	TennesseeState	0.94	$50,240	$54,907	30%
43	MissouriState	0.93	$48,190	$54,391	26%
44	New YorkState	0.93	$61,380	$54,560	36%
45	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$59,340	$54,691	41%
46	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$56,490	$54,580	34%
47	MichiganState	0.92	$49,540	$53,673	27%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$52,220	$53,835	30%
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$60,630	$53,750	40%
50	NebraskaState	0.91	$48,880	$53,421	26%
51	North CarolinaState	0.91	$50,500	$53,496	31%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$51,170	$52,862	38%
53	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$61,460	$52,755	44%
54	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.90	$49,040	$53,016	29%
55	IowaState	0.89	$46,330	$51,939	25%
56	VirginiaState	0.89	$54,230	$52,396	35%
57	WisconsinState	0.89	$48,070	$52,080	27%
58	WyomingState	0.89	$48,710	$52,376	24%
59	GeorgiaState	0.88	$48,320	$51,734	35%
60	IllinoisState	0.88	$49,990	$51,324	31%
61	IndianaState	0.87	$46,150	$50,994	27%
62	MarylandState	0.87	$55,460	$50,788	36%
63	South CarolinaState	0.87	$46,740	$50,804	32%
64	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.86	$53,350	$50,425	38%
65	ArizonaState	0.84	$49,580	$49,138	36%
66	MaineState	0.84	$48,900	$48,998	32%
67	LouisianaState	0.73	$38,470	$42,697	33%

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