Best Cities for Training and Development Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where training and development specialistss 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	DelawareState	1.27	$88,570	$87,693	18%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.26	$104,770	$87,163	36%
3	New HampshireState	1.17	$86,050	$81,179	22%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$78,430	$78,824	23%
5	AlaskaState	1.13	$81,860	$78,485	20%
6	MinnesotaState	1.13	$76,710	$78,276	20%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.13	$89,550	$78,346	29%
8	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$72,390	$77,422	21%
9	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.12	$71,580	$77,384	20%
10	West VirginiaState	1.11	$64,960	$77,150	15%
11	WisconsinState	1.11	$70,770	$76,674	18%
12	VermontState	1.10	$77,800	$75,902	22%
13	WashingtonState	1.10	$81,860	$76,291	28%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$75,910	$75,532	24%
15	VirginiaState	1.08	$77,690	$75,063	24%
16	WyomingState	1.08	$69,380	$74,602	17%
17	AlabamaState	1.07	$64,490	$74,041	18%
18	IowaState	1.07	$66,110	$74,114	17%
19	MassachusettsState	1.07	$80,270	$73,982	34%
20	OregonState	1.07	$76,360	$74,136	25%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$78,220	$73,932	26%
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.07	$83,800	$73,833	37%
23	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$67,530	$74,046	22%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.07	$76,710	$74,116	25%
25	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$71,350	$73,557	22%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$71,330	$73,688	27%
27	ConnecticutState	1.05	$78,080	$72,565	24%
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$71,010	$73,056	27%
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$82,400	$73,050	29%
30	ColoradoState	1.04	$75,790	$71,907	29%
31	GeorgiaState	1.04	$67,320	$72,077	25%
32	NebraskaState	1.04	$65,700	$71,803	19%
33	OhioState	1.03	$64,780	$71,659	19%
34	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$68,480	$71,482	26%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$66,300	$71,444	23%
36	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.03	$77,000	$71,429	28%
37	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$80,980	$70,849	31%
38	FloridaState	1.02	$71,990	$70,926	29%
39	New JerseyState	1.02	$77,020	$70,790	28%
40	MarylandState	1.01	$76,370	$69,936	26%
41	MichiganState	1.01	$64,350	$69,718	21%
42	IllinoisState	1.00	$67,380	$69,179	23%
43	KentuckyState	1.00	$61,390	$69,367	19%
44	North CarolinaState	1.00	$65,250	$69,121	24%
45	OklahomaState	1.00	$61,040	$68,972	19%
46	CaliforniaState	0.99	$75,790	$68,464	36%
47	KansasState	0.99	$62,010	$68,900	20%
48	New MexicoState	0.99	$62,900	$68,370	20%
49	North DakotaState	0.99	$63,260	$68,315	19%
50	South CarolinaState	0.99	$63,070	$68,554	24%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$66,130	$68,742	28%
52	New YorkState	0.98	$76,080	$67,627	29%
53	South DakotaState	0.98	$61,570	$67,808	19%
54	TennesseeState	0.98	$62,280	$68,066	24%
55	IndianaState	0.97	$61,050	$67,459	21%
56	ArizonaState	0.96	$67,140	$66,541	27%
57	MissouriState	0.96	$58,670	$66,219	21%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.96	$71,990	$66,350	34%
59	MaineState	0.95	$65,680	$65,812	24%
60	TexasState	0.95	$62,860	$65,753	26%
61	MontanaState	0.94	$62,880	$65,228	22%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$64,010	$64,985	32%
63	LouisianaState	0.93	$58,070	$64,451	22%
64	IdahoState	0.92	$61,720	$63,959	23%
65	MississippiState	0.91	$53,680	$63,302	20%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$71,990	$61,794	38%
67	NevadaState	0.88	$61,350	$61,228	28%
68	UtahState	0.88	$60,900	$60,778	29%
69	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$55,800	$60,652	28%
70	ArkansasState	0.87	$52,290	$60,591	20%
71	HawaiiState	0.80	$60,960	$55,418	47%

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