Best Cities for Travel Agentss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where travel agentss 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	MontanaState	1.27	$61,330	$63,620	22%
2	NevadaState	1.26	$63,400	$63,273	27%
3	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.24	$59,820	$62,183	31%
4	TennesseeState	1.21	$55,640	$60,809	27%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.21	$56,210	$60,571	27%
6	KansasState	1.19	$53,600	$59,556	23%
7	North CarolinaState	1.19	$56,180	$59,513	28%
8	Rhode IslandState	1.19	$59,790	$59,493	30%
9	VermontState	1.18	$60,560	$59,083	28%
10	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.18	$56,510	$58,987	32%
11	MississippiState	1.15	$49,050	$57,842	22%
12	UtahState	1.13	$56,670	$56,557	32%
13	ConnecticutState	1.12	$60,640	$56,357	31%
14	New JerseyState	1.12	$61,090	$56,149	35%
15	KentuckyState	1.11	$49,370	$55,785	23%
16	OregonState	1.10	$56,810	$55,155	34%
17	AlabamaState	1.09	$47,640	$54,696	24%
18	NebraskaState	1.08	$49,690	$54,306	25%
19	ColoradoState	1.07	$56,570	$53,672	39%
20	District of ColumbiaState	1.07	$61,560	$53,858	41%
21	IndianaState	1.07	$48,530	$53,624	26%
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$58,030	$53,831	37%
23	West VirginiaState	1.06	$44,760	$53,159	22%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$48,660	$53,355	30%
25	GeorgiaState	1.04	$48,880	$52,334	35%
26	MassachusettsState	1.04	$56,450	$52,028	48%
27	TexasState	1.03	$49,500	$51,778	34%
28	WashingtonState	1.03	$55,260	$51,500	41%
29	WyomingState	1.03	$48,030	$51,645	25%
30	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$58,890	$51,885	52%
31	ArizonaState	1.02	$51,800	$51,338	35%
32	IowaState	1.02	$45,440	$50,942	25%
33	MissouriState	1.02	$45,460	$51,309	27%
34	WisconsinState	1.02	$47,080	$51,008	28%
35	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$47,540	$51,395	30%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$46,850	$50,924	33%
37	OhioState	1.01	$46,000	$50,885	27%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$48,880	$50,496	40%
39	IllinoisState	1.00	$49,090	$50,400	32%
40	MichiganState	1.00	$46,250	$50,108	29%
41	IdahoState	0.99	$48,110	$49,855	30%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$48,410	$49,805	39%
43	FloridaState	0.98	$50,060	$49,320	41%
44	New YorkState	0.98	$55,580	$49,404	40%
45	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$47,720	$49,196	33%
46	South DakotaState	0.98	$44,510	$49,020	26%
47	New MexicoState	0.97	$44,700	$48,587	28%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$50,430	$48,725	38%
49	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.97	$58,760	$48,885	64%
50	MinnesotaState	0.96	$47,260	$48,224	33%
51	North DakotaState	0.96	$44,740	$48,315	26%
52	Columbus, OHMetro	0.96	$45,100	$48,235	34%
53	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$55,260	$48,346	48%
54	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.95	$47,530	$47,769	37%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$47,120	$47,838	44%
56	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$49,160	$46,465	41%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$50,720	$46,747	48%
58	CaliforniaState	0.92	$51,030	$46,098	53%
59	AlaskaState	0.91	$47,650	$45,686	34%
60	MarylandState	0.90	$49,160	$45,018	41%
61	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$50,650	$44,902	47%
62	New HampshireState	0.89	$47,190	$44,519	40%
63	VirginiaState	0.87	$45,260	$43,729	42%
64	HawaiiState	0.86	$47,560	$43,236	60%
65	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$50,440	$43,296	54%
66	ArkansasState	0.85	$36,600	$42,410	29%
67	OklahomaState	0.83	$36,980	$41,785	31%
68	LouisianaState	0.80	$35,970	$39,922	35%
69	South CarolinaState	0.75	$34,560	$37,565	44%

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