Best Cities for Word Processors and Typistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where word processors and typistss 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	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.18	$54,160	$58,362	28%
2	ColoradoState	1.11	$57,550	$54,602	38%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$49,950	$54,770	29%
4	TennesseeState	1.10	$49,750	$54,372	30%
5	AlabamaState	1.09	$46,860	$53,800	25%
6	OhioState	1.09	$48,670	$53,838	26%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$64,280	$53,478	59%
8	MinnesotaState	1.07	$51,550	$52,602	30%
9	WisconsinState	1.07	$48,540	$52,589	27%
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$48,070	$52,250	33%
11	IdahoState	1.05	$49,930	$51,741	29%
12	MichiganState	1.05	$47,970	$51,972	28%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$51,550	$51,809	34%
14	NebraskaState	1.04	$47,080	$51,454	27%
15	CaliforniaState	1.03	$56,380	$50,930	48%
16	OregonState	1.03	$52,420	$50,893	36%
17	New MexicoState	1.02	$46,400	$50,435	27%
18	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$48,720	$50,123	39%
19	ArkansasState	1.01	$43,010	$49,838	24%
20	MassachusettsState	1.01	$53,740	$49,530	50%
21	TexasState	1.01	$47,720	$49,916	35%
22	OklahomaState	1.00	$43,710	$49,390	27%
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$57,670	$49,502	47%
24	IowaState	0.98	$43,210	$48,442	26%
25	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$53,740	$47,348	57%
26	IllinoisState	0.95	$45,490	$46,704	35%
27	Rhode IslandState	0.95	$47,040	$46,806	38%
28	South CarolinaState	0.94	$42,840	$46,565	35%
29	ConnecticutState	0.93	$49,250	$45,771	38%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$47,250	$45,652	41%
31	New JerseyState	0.92	$49,520	$45,515	44%
32	DelawareState	0.91	$45,480	$45,030	36%
33	VirginiaState	0.90	$46,130	$44,570	41%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.90	$47,110	$44,527	43%
35	IndianaState	0.89	$39,520	$43,669	32%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.89	$40,550	$43,838	35%
37	MarylandState	0.88	$47,110	$43,141	43%
38	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$49,180	$43,599	49%
39	District of ColumbiaState	0.87	$49,180	$43,027	51%
40	New YorkState	0.87	$48,400	$43,022	46%
41	WashingtonState	0.87	$46,110	$42,973	49%
42	West VirginiaState	0.87	$36,060	$42,827	28%
43	MissouriState	0.86	$37,440	$42,257	33%
44	PennsylvaniaState	0.86	$41,000	$42,268	38%
45	ArizonaState	0.85	$42,070	$41,695	43%
46	NevadaState	0.84	$41,290	$41,208	42%
47	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.76	$42,890	$37,524	61%
48	HawaiiState	0.74	$40,060	$36,418	71%
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.73	$39,050	$35,991	63%
50	FloridaState	0.72	$35,770	$35,241	58%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.72	$35,170	$35,706	59%
52	GeorgiaState	0.68	$31,450	$33,672	54%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.66	$31,450	$32,490	62%

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