Best Cities for Writers and Authorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where writers and authorss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.47	$129,300	$113,123	20%
2	LouisianaState	1.29	$89,520	$99,356	14%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.29	$118,810	$98,844	32%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.25	$108,460	$96,152	22%
5	MarylandState	1.24	$104,330	$95,540	19%
6	VermontState	1.20	$94,430	$92,127	18%
7	ConnecticutState	1.19	$98,460	$91,506	19%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.12	$98,730	$86,378	27%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.10	$81,990	$84,700	24%
10	IndianaState	1.09	$75,820	$83,779	17%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$75,760	$83,070	19%
12	VirginiaState	1.07	$85,000	$82,126	22%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$87,020	$82,250	23%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$76,490	$81,807	20%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$84,130	$81,285	23%
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$87,560	$81,224	25%
17	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$74,030	$80,467	21%
18	GeorgiaState	1.04	$74,710	$79,989	23%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$77,410	$79,804	20%
20	WashingtonState	1.04	$85,700	$79,870	27%
21	CaliforniaState	1.02	$86,480	$78,121	31%
22	MassachusettsState	1.02	$85,260	$78,581	32%
23	OregonState	1.02	$80,540	$78,194	24%
24	AlabamaState	1.00	$66,950	$76,866	17%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.00	$76,470	$76,854	23%
26	West VirginiaState	0.99	$64,410	$76,496	16%
27	New JerseyState	0.98	$81,590	$74,991	26%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$85,260	$75,119	36%
29	MinnesotaState	0.97	$72,810	$74,296	21%
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$72,560	$73,665	28%
31	ColoradoState	0.95	$76,830	$72,894	29%
32	KansasState	0.95	$65,840	$73,156	19%
33	OhioState	0.95	$65,930	$72,931	19%
34	TexasState	0.95	$69,990	$73,211	24%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.94	$67,230	$72,446	23%
36	NebraskaState	0.93	$65,470	$71,552	19%
37	IllinoisState	0.91	$68,220	$70,041	23%
38	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$70,190	$69,841	26%
39	WisconsinState	0.91	$64,370	$69,740	20%
40	IowaState	0.89	$61,010	$68,397	19%
41	New HampshireState	0.88	$71,830	$67,764	26%
42	North CarolinaState	0.88	$63,660	$67,436	25%
43	FloridaState	0.87	$68,080	$67,074	30%
44	OklahomaState	0.86	$58,770	$66,407	20%
45	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$63,720	$66,514	28%
46	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$64,520	$66,379	29%
47	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$77,250	$66,309	35%
48	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$63,270	$65,769	30%
49	MissouriState	0.85	$58,140	$65,621	21%
50	TennesseeState	0.84	$58,870	$64,339	26%
51	UtahState	0.84	$64,530	$64,401	28%
52	MississippiState	0.83	$54,180	$63,892	20%
53	NevadaState	0.83	$63,910	$63,782	27%
54	South DakotaState	0.81	$56,700	$62,445	20%
55	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$66,470	$61,263	37%
56	IdahoState	0.76	$56,360	$58,404	26%
57	South CarolinaState	0.73	$51,920	$56,435	29%
58	ArizonaState	0.72	$55,990	$55,491	32%
59	ArkansasState	0.72	$47,970	$55,585	22%
60	KentuckyState	0.72	$48,780	$55,119	24%
61	North DakotaState	0.71	$50,860	$54,924	23%
62	WyomingState	0.69	$49,650	$53,387	24%

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