Best Cities for Waiters and Waitressess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where waiters and waitressess 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	VermontState	1.64	$59,140	$57,698	29%
2	HawaiiState	1.61	$62,390	$56,718	46%
3	WashingtonState	1.48	$56,130	$52,311	41%
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.44	$54,780	$50,816	39%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.42	$57,280	$50,114	46%
6	OregonState	1.33	$48,410	$47,000	39%
7	ArizonaState	1.24	$43,950	$43,558	41%
8	MaineState	1.23	$43,370	$43,457	36%
9	VirginiaState	1.23	$44,760	$43,246	42%
10	ColoradoState	1.21	$44,860	$42,562	49%
11	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$47,850	$41,864	53%
12	New YorkState	1.19	$47,020	$41,796	47%
13	West VirginiaState	1.19	$35,380	$42,019	28%
14	New JerseyState	1.17	$44,960	$41,324	48%
15	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.17	$37,490	$41,107	39%
16	MichiganState	1.16	$37,760	$40,910	36%
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.16	$46,040	$40,816	52%
18	OhioState	1.15	$36,700	$40,597	34%
19	KansasState	1.14	$36,120	$40,133	34%
20	New MexicoState	1.14	$36,920	$40,130	34%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.14	$37,490	$40,096	41%
22	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.10	$36,080	$38,879	43%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$35,470	$38,346	40%
24	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$36,430	$38,027	49%
25	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.07	$37,070	$37,635	56%
26	NebraskaState	1.05	$33,770	$36,907	37%
27	DelawareState	1.04	$36,880	$36,515	44%
28	New HampshireState	1.03	$38,430	$36,255	49%
29	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$34,690	$35,763	45%
30	FloridaState	1.01	$36,150	$35,616	57%
31	MassachusettsState	1.01	$38,460	$35,447	70%
32	ConnecticutState	1.00	$37,770	$35,102	50%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$35,420	$35,244	51%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$36,570	$35,333	52%
35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.99	$41,920	$34,875	90%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$39,270	$34,599	78%
37	North CarolinaState	0.97	$32,150	$34,057	49%
38	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$36,170	$34,187	56%
39	MarylandState	0.96	$36,750	$33,654	55%
40	KentuckyState	0.95	$29,660	$33,514	39%
41	North DakotaState	0.95	$30,890	$33,359	38%
42	MissouriState	0.94	$29,400	$33,183	42%
43	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$36,070	$33,244	68%
44	CaliforniaState	0.93	$36,080	$32,593	75%
45	IllinoisState	0.91	$31,200	$32,033	50%
46	South DakotaState	0.91	$28,990	$31,927	40%
47	WisconsinState	0.91	$29,670	$32,145	44%
48	IndianaState	0.89	$28,480	$31,470	44%
49	IdahoState	0.88	$30,050	$31,140	48%
50	UtahState	0.88	$31,150	$31,088	57%
51	AlabamaState	0.87	$26,840	$30,815	43%
52	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$35,850	$30,773	76%
53	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$29,390	$30,551	64%
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$28,110	$30,554	56%
55	TennesseeState	0.86	$27,760	$30,339	54%
56	ArkansasState	0.81	$24,680	$28,598	43%
57	NevadaState	0.75	$26,410	$26,357	66%
58	MinnesotaState	0.74	$25,470	$25,990	60%
59	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.74	$25,920	$26,050	69%
60	WyomingState	0.73	$23,920	$25,720	49%
61	AlaskaState	0.72	$26,310	$25,225	62%
62	MississippiState	0.72	$21,370	$25,200	50%
63	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.71	$24,160	$24,856	79%
64	MontanaState	0.69	$23,370	$24,243	58%
65	TexasState	0.69	$23,240	$24,310	72%
66	IowaState	0.67	$21,000	$23,543	54%
67	GeorgiaState	0.57	$18,700	$20,021	91%
68	OklahomaState	0.57	$17,910	$20,237	65%
69	South CarolinaState	0.57	$18,370	$19,967	82%
70	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.54	$18,460	$19,070	105%
71	LouisianaState	0.48	$15,080	$16,737	83%

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