Best cities for consumer and retail pay after cost of living
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 Sunnyvale, CA: $194k
- #2 Renton, WA: $168k
- #3 San Francisco, CA: $158k
- 11 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $141k across the typical city in our data.
- 1Sunnyvale CA$194k
- 2Renton WA$168k
- 3San Francisco CA$158k
- 4Boston MA$144k
- 5Hoboken NJ$144k
- 6New York NY$138k
- 7Seattle WA$131k
- 8Los Angeles CA$130k
- 9Chicago IL$123k
- 10New York NY$99k
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Sunnyvale ($194k) is well clear of New York at #10 ($99k).
- Hoboken reaches #5 on a sample of 20 openings with pay posted, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 221 openings with pay posted behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Pay in an industry varies by city as much as the cost of living does. Adjusting posted pay for local prices shows where the same industry's salary goes furthest.
How to use it
Use it to compare offers in the same industry across cities. A city with a lower headline salary can leave you ahead once prices are counted.
The top 25
- 1
Sunnyvale CA
$194k
- Median posted pay
- $215k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 29
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon
Based on 29 openings.
- 2
Renton WA
$168k
- Median posted pay
- $179k
- State prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 34
Hiring most here: Hasbro, Providence Health & Services Washington, Michels
Based on 34 openings.
- 3
San Francisco CA
$158k
- Median posted pay
- $183k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 117
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 117 openings.
- 4
Boston MA
$144k
- Median posted pay
- $156k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 79
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 79 openings.
- 5
Hoboken NJ
$144k
- Median posted pay
- $162k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 20
Hiring most here: Walmart, Stevens Institute of Technology, Unilever
Based on 20 openings.
- 6
New York NY
$138k
- Median posted pay
- $155k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 221
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 221 openings.
- 7
Seattle WA
$131k
- Median posted pay
- $145k
- Local prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 37
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 37 openings.
- 8
Los Angeles CA
$130k
- Median posted pay
- $148k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 57
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 57 openings.
- 9
Chicago IL
$123k
- Median posted pay
- $128k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 67
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 67 openings.
- 10
New York NY
$99k
- Median posted pay
- $111k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 48
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 48 openings.
- 11
Louisville KY
$78k
- Median posted pay
- $70k
- State prices vs US average
- −10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 34
Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances
Based on 34 openings.
Full ranking
All 11 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunnyvale CA | $194k | 29 |
| 2 | Renton WA | $168k | 34 |
| 3 | San Francisco CA | $158k | 117 |
| 4 | Boston MA | $144k | 79 |
| 5 | Hoboken NJ | $144k | 20 |
| 6 | New York NY | $138k | 221 |
| 7 | Seattle WA | $131k | 37 |
| 8 | Los Angeles CA | $130k | 57 |
| 9 | Chicago IL | $123k | 67 |
| 10 | New York NY | $99k | 48 |
| 11 | Louisville KY | $78k | 34 |
How this ranking works
The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked.
A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
Sample bar: cities with fewer than 30 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states). Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which city ranks first: best cities for consumer and retail pay after cost of living?
- Sunnyvale leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $194k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 11 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 11 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best cities for consumer and retail pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-consumer-and-retail-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-consumer-and-retail-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for consumer and retail pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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