Best cities for finance pay after cost of living
Key facts
- #1 Mountain View, CA: $161k
- #2 San Mateo, CA: $159k
- #3 Santa Clara, CA: $156k
- 35 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $127k across the typical city in our data.
- 1Mountain View CA$161k
- 2San Mateo CA$159k
- 3Santa Clara CA$156k
- 4San Francisco CA$156k
- 5Austin TX$156k
- 6Addison TX$155k
- 7San Jose CA$143k
- 8Dallas TX$140k
- 9Alpharetta GA$138k
- 10New York NY$135k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Mountain View leads on $161k, and #10 New York is at $135k.
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 573 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.
The top 25
- 1
Mountain View CA
$161k
- Median posted pay
- $178k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 26
Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google
Based on 26 openings.
- 2
San Mateo CA
$159k
- Median posted pay
- $184k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio
Based on 28 openings.
- 3
Santa Clara CA
$156k
- Median posted pay
- $173k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 31
Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon
Based on 31 openings.
- 4
San Francisco CA
$156k
- Median posted pay
- $180k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 282
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 282 openings.
- 5
Austin TX
$156k
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- Local prices vs US average
- −2%
- Openings with pay posted
- 48
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 48 openings.
- 6
Addison TX
$155k
- Median posted pay
- $150k
- State prices vs US average
- −3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 31
Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America
Based on 31 openings.
- 7
San Jose CA
$143k
- Median posted pay
- $158k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 28 openings.
- 8
Dallas TX
$140k
- Median posted pay
- $144k
- Local prices vs US average
- +3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 74
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 74 openings.
- 9
Alpharetta GA
$138k
- Median posted pay
- $133k
- State prices vs US average
- −4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 23
Hiring most here: Morgan Stanley, Fiserv, Landis+Gyr
Based on 23 openings.
- 10
New York NY
$135k
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 573
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 573 openings.
- 11
Columbus OH
$135k
- Median posted pay
- $129k
- Local prices vs US average
- −5%
- Openings with pay posted
- 37
Hiring most here: Nationwide Children's Hospital, State of Ohio, Nationwide
Based on 37 openings.
- 12
Philadelphia PA
$133k
- Median posted pay
- $136k
- Local prices vs US average
- +3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: Confidential, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, GSK
Based on 28 openings.
- 13
Atlanta GA
$130k
- Median posted pay
- $131k
- Local prices vs US average
- +0%
- Openings with pay posted
- 94
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 94 openings.
- 14
Sacramento CA
$130k
- Median posted pay
- $139k
- Local prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 26
Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, Nalu Medical
Based on 26 openings.
- 15
Arlington VA
$129k
- Median posted pay
- $130k
- State prices vs US average
- +1%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 28 openings.
- 16
Chicago IL
$128k
- Median posted pay
- $132k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 248
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 248 openings.
- 17
Denver CO
$128k
- Median posted pay
- $135k
- Local prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 69
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 69 openings.
- 18
Boston MA
$127k
- Median posted pay
- $138k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 65
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 65 openings.
- 19
Phoenix AZ
$126k
- Median posted pay
- $130k
- Local prices vs US average
- +3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 40
Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology
Based on 40 openings.
- 20
Los Angeles CA
$126k
- Median posted pay
- $143k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 116
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 116 openings.
- 21
Washington DC
$124k
- Median posted pay
- $135k
- Local prices vs US average
- +9%
- Openings with pay posted
- 124
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International
Based on 124 openings.
- 22
Charlotte NC
$123k
- Median posted pay
- $120k
- Local prices vs US average
- −3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 39
Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas
Based on 39 openings.
- 23
Bellevue WA
$121k
- Median posted pay
- $129k
- State prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta
Based on 24 openings.
- 24
Nashville TN
$119k
- Median posted pay
- $115k
- Local prices vs US average
- −4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 31
Hiring most here: Oracle, Amazon, Vanderbilt University
Based on 31 openings.
- 25
New York NY
$117k
- Median posted pay
- $131k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 54
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 54 openings.
Full ranking
All 35 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountain View CA | $161k | 26 |
| 2 | San Mateo CA | $159k | 28 |
| 3 | Santa Clara CA | $156k | 31 |
| 4 | San Francisco CA | $156k | 282 |
| 5 | Austin TX | $156k | 48 |
| 6 | Addison TX | $155k | 31 |
| 7 | San Jose CA | $143k | 28 |
| 8 | Dallas TX | $140k | 74 |
| 9 | Alpharetta GA | $138k | 23 |
| 10 | New York NY | $135k | 573 |
| 11 | Columbus OH | $135k | 37 |
| 12 | Philadelphia PA | $133k | 28 |
| 13 | Atlanta GA | $130k | 94 |
| 14 | Sacramento CA | $130k | 26 |
| 15 | Arlington VA | $129k | 28 |
| 16 | Chicago IL | $128k | 248 |
| 17 | Denver CO | $128k | 69 |
| 18 | Boston MA | $127k | 65 |
| 19 | Phoenix AZ | $126k | 40 |
| 20 | Los Angeles CA | $126k | 116 |
| 21 | Washington DC | $124k | 124 |
| 22 | Charlotte NC | $123k | 39 |
| 23 | Bellevue WA | $121k | 24 |
| 24 | Nashville TN | $119k | 31 |
| 25 | New York NY | $117k | 54 |
| 26 | Louisville KY | $116k | 52 |
| 27 | Minneapolis MN | $116k | 35 |
| 28 | Indianapolis IN | $114k | 26 |
| 29 | Cleveland OH | $113k | 24 |
| 30 | Seattle WA | $113k | 66 |
| 31 | San Diego CA | $109k | 58 |
| 32 | Houston TX | $105k | 35 |
| 33 | Irvine CA | $99k | 35 |
| 34 | Tampa FL | $96k | 46 |
| 35 | Miami FL | $88k | 25 |
How this ranking works
The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family 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 family 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 finance pay after cost of living?
- Mountain View leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $161k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 35 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 35 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family 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 family 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 finance pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-finance-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-finance-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for finance pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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