Best Cities for Transportation Security Screenerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where transportation security screenerss 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$69,640	$76,360	21%
2	West VirginiaState	1.12	$63,130	$74,976	16%
3	MississippiState	1.11	$63,130	$74,446	17%
4	AlabamaState	1.10	$63,770	$73,215	18%
5	IllinoisState	1.09	$70,570	$72,454	22%
6	MichiganState	1.09	$67,390	$73,012	20%
7	OhioState	1.09	$65,870	$72,865	19%
8	New HampshireState	1.08	$76,130	$71,821	25%
9	TexasState	1.08	$68,640	$71,799	24%
10	GeorgiaState	1.07	$66,770	$71,488	25%
11	KentuckyState	1.07	$63,130	$71,333	18%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.07	$71,510	$71,154	25%
13	ArkansasState	1.06	$61,110	$70,811	17%
14	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$68,640	$70,617	28%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$65,270	$70,562	22%
16	KansasState	1.05	$63,130	$70,144	20%
17	LouisianaState	1.05	$63,130	$70,067	20%
18	New MexicoState	1.04	$63,810	$69,359	20%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$67,330	$69,412	23%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$68,830	$69,176	26%
21	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$64,060	$69,630	24%
22	AlaskaState	1.03	$71,390	$68,447	23%
23	IowaState	1.03	$61,590	$69,047	19%
24	MinnesotaState	1.03	$67,290	$68,663	23%
25	South CarolinaState	1.03	$63,130	$68,620	24%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$66,770	$68,977	29%
27	ColoradoState	1.02	$71,530	$67,865	31%
28	IndianaState	1.02	$61,670	$68,144	21%
29	New JerseyState	1.02	$74,400	$68,382	29%
30	North CarolinaState	1.02	$64,540	$68,369	24%
31	WisconsinState	1.02	$63,130	$68,397	21%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$72,240	$68,280	28%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$63,750	$68,182	24%
34	MassachusettsState	1.01	$73,510	$67,751	37%
35	NebraskaState	1.01	$61,710	$67,443	20%
36	VirginiaState	1.01	$69,910	$67,546	27%
37	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$64,540	$67,370	28%
38	CaliforniaState	1.00	$73,610	$66,495	37%
39	TennesseeState	1.00	$61,110	$66,787	25%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$76,130	$67,075	40%
41	MarylandState	0.99	$72,240	$66,154	28%
42	IdahoState	0.98	$63,130	$65,420	23%
43	WyomingState	0.98	$61,110	$65,710	19%
44	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$78,940	$65,674	48%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$67,330	$65,053	28%
46	HawaiiState	0.96	$70,160	$63,782	41%
47	NevadaState	0.96	$64,500	$64,371	27%
48	New YorkState	0.96	$72,010	$64,009	31%
49	VermontState	0.96	$65,460	$63,863	26%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$63,130	$64,091	33%
51	ArizonaState	0.95	$64,330	$63,756	28%
52	MaineState	0.95	$63,130	$63,257	25%
53	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.95	$73,610	$63,185	37%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$61,110	$63,524	31%
55	FloridaState	0.93	$63,130	$62,197	33%
56	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$69,910	$61,977	34%
57	South DakotaState	0.92	$55,530	$61,156	21%
58	UtahState	0.91	$61,110	$60,988	29%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$65,080	$59,982	38%
60	North DakotaState	0.89	$54,950	$59,341	21%
61	MissouriState	0.87	$51,210	$57,799	24%
62	MontanaState	0.85	$54,770	$56,815	25%

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