Best Cities for Web Developerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where web developerss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.50	$166,670	$138,661	23%
2	VirginiaState	1.34	$128,380	$124,039	15%
3	WashingtonState	1.31	$130,440	$121,566	17%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.29	$134,350	$119,105	18%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.28	$108,550	$119,024	13%
6	MissouriState	1.26	$103,750	$117,099	12%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.23	$130,440	$114,121	20%
8	CaliforniaState	1.17	$119,570	$108,013	23%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$106,890	$107,427	17%
10	MichiganState	1.15	$98,470	$106,685	14%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.15	$101,980	$106,451	18%
12	MarylandState	1.11	$112,690	$103,196	18%
13	MinnesotaState	1.11	$101,020	$103,082	15%
14	North CarolinaState	1.10	$96,610	$102,341	16%
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$107,590	$101,692	19%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$114,690	$100,341	22%
17	UtahState	1.08	$100,170	$99,970	18%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$96,740	$99,527	20%
19	WisconsinState	1.06	$90,630	$98,191	14%
20	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$98,140	$97,652	18%
21	GeorgiaState	1.04	$90,340	$96,724	19%
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$93,590	$96,684	21%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$89,420	$96,358	17%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$108,520	$95,612	28%
25	LouisianaState	1.02	$85,330	$94,706	15%
26	KentuckyState	1.01	$82,630	$93,367	14%
27	West VirginiaState	1.00	$78,240	$92,922	13%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$107,290	$92,094	25%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$94,570	$91,372	20%
30	MassachusettsState	0.98	$98,470	$90,756	27%
31	TexasState	0.97	$85,800	$89,749	19%
32	Columbus, OHMetro	0.97	$83,860	$89,690	19%
33	IndianaState	0.96	$80,870	$89,359	16%
34	OklahomaState	0.96	$78,580	$88,791	15%
35	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$86,380	$89,052	18%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$82,560	$89,254	17%
37	NebraskaState	0.95	$80,350	$87,814	16%
38	New YorkState	0.95	$98,580	$87,627	22%
39	IllinoisState	0.94	$84,820	$87,084	19%
40	New JerseyState	0.94	$95,180	$87,482	23%
41	South CarolinaState	0.92	$78,190	$84,989	19%
42	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$77,730	$84,489	20%
43	NevadaState	0.90	$83,220	$83,054	21%
44	IdahoState	0.89	$79,290	$82,166	18%
45	VermontState	0.89	$84,550	$82,488	20%
46	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$78,990	$82,110	24%
47	ColoradoState	0.88	$85,950	$81,546	26%
48	KansasState	0.88	$73,590	$81,767	17%
49	TennesseeState	0.88	$74,760	$81,705	20%
50	ConnecticutState	0.86	$85,930	$79,861	22%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$78,910	$80,112	26%
52	North DakotaState	0.84	$72,190	$77,959	16%
53	ArizonaState	0.82	$76,230	$75,550	24%
54	DelawareState	0.81	$76,020	$75,267	21%
55	New HampshireState	0.80	$78,260	$73,830	24%
56	New MexicoState	0.80	$68,120	$74,043	18%
57	WyomingState	0.79	$68,410	$73,559	17%
58	IowaState	0.78	$64,210	$71,984	18%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.74	$73,920	$68,571	29%
60	MontanaState	0.69	$62,060	$64,378	22%
61	OregonState	0.68	$64,460	$62,583	30%
62	ArkansasState	0.63	$50,550	$58,575	21%
63	South DakotaState	0.61	$51,100	$56,278	22%

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