Best Cities for Tour and Travel Guidess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where tour and travel guidess 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.46	$63,630	$55,669	41%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.36	$50,320	$51,983	39%
3	WyomingState	1.33	$47,020	$50,559	25%
4	WashingtonState	1.32	$54,160	$50,475	42%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$59,330	$49,359	64%
6	KansasState	1.27	$43,700	$48,556	28%
7	MaineState	1.18	$44,940	$45,030	35%
8	VermontState	1.18	$45,920	$44,800	37%
9	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$49,210	$43,053	51%
10	GeorgiaState	1.13	$40,190	$43,030	42%
11	AlaskaState	1.11	$44,210	$42,387	37%
12	HawaiiState	1.10	$45,940	$41,764	62%
13	CaliforniaState	1.09	$46,000	$41,554	59%
14	MontanaState	1.09	$40,100	$41,598	34%
15	FloridaState	1.08	$41,600	$40,985	50%
16	ColoradoState	1.07	$42,840	$40,645	52%
17	KentuckyState	1.07	$36,070	$40,757	32%
18	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$46,130	$40,895	52%
19	MinnesotaState	1.06	$39,650	$40,459	39%
20	New MexicoState	1.06	$37,080	$40,304	34%
21	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.06	$43,800	$40,369	56%
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$39,650	$39,849	45%
23	ArkansasState	1.04	$34,290	$39,733	31%
24	New YorkState	1.04	$44,450	$39,511	50%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$37,030	$39,604	42%
26	IdahoState	1.03	$37,960	$39,337	38%
27	NevadaState	1.03	$39,360	$39,281	44%
28	New HampshireState	1.03	$41,600	$39,245	46%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$35,370	$38,783	41%
30	South DakotaState	1.01	$35,100	$38,656	33%
31	UtahState	1.01	$38,540	$38,463	46%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$37,110	$38,576	50%
33	MichiganState	1.00	$35,090	$38,017	38%
34	North DakotaState	1.00	$35,360	$38,186	33%
35	OregonState	1.00	$39,260	$38,117	49%
36	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$38,310	$38,119	47%
37	South CarolinaState	1.00	$35,190	$38,250	43%
38	IllinoisState	0.99	$36,780	$37,762	43%
39	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$37,200	$37,766	55%
40	ArizonaState	0.98	$37,560	$37,225	48%
41	MarylandState	0.97	$40,310	$36,914	50%
42	TennesseeState	0.97	$33,760	$36,896	45%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$42,870	$36,798	63%
44	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$39,260	$36,419	55%
45	AlabamaState	0.95	$31,700	$36,395	36%
46	MissouriState	0.95	$31,980	$36,095	39%
47	OhioState	0.95	$32,800	$36,283	38%
48	OklahomaState	0.95	$32,150	$36,328	36%
49	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.94	$33,340	$35,927	46%
50	LouisianaState	0.93	$32,060	$35,583	39%
51	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$37,440	$35,388	54%
52	MassachusettsState	0.91	$37,840	$34,876	72%
53	NebraskaState	0.91	$31,580	$34,514	40%
54	North CarolinaState	0.91	$32,570	$34,502	48%
55	TexasState	0.91	$33,080	$34,603	50%
56	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$33,400	$34,864	54%
57	IndianaState	0.90	$31,030	$34,287	41%
58	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.90	$33,340	$34,300	57%
59	PennsylvaniaState	0.89	$32,910	$33,928	47%
60	West VirginiaState	0.89	$28,570	$33,931	35%
61	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.89	$38,440	$33,868	80%
62	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.89	$31,250	$33,784	45%
63	New JerseyState	0.88	$36,640	$33,676	59%
64	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.87	$34,290	$33,130	56%
65	ConnecticutState	0.86	$35,090	$32,612	54%
66	DelawareState	0.86	$33,210	$32,881	49%
67	WisconsinState	0.86	$30,160	$32,676	43%
68	MississippiState	0.85	$27,460	$32,382	39%
69	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.83	$29,190	$31,728	54%
70	IowaState	0.66	$22,490	$25,213	51%

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