Best cities for HR pay after cost of living
Key facts
- #1 San Mateo, CA: $156k
- #2 San Francisco, CA: $151k
- #3 Seattle, WA: $149k
- 15 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $133k across the typical city in our data.
- 1San Mateo CA$156k
- 2San Francisco CA$151k
- 3Seattle WA$149k
- 4Mountain View CA$140k
- 5Atlanta GA$136k
- 6New York NY$133k
- 7Washington DC$129k
- 8Austin TX$127k
- 9Boston MA$125k
- 10San Jose CA$113k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: San Mateo leads on $156k, and #10 San Jose is at $113k.
- Mountain View reaches #4 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 357 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
San Mateo CA
$156k
- Median posted pay
- $180k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 21
Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio
Based on 21 openings.
- 2
San Francisco CA
$151k
- Median posted pay
- $175k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 226
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 226 openings.
- 3
Seattle WA
$149k
- Median posted pay
- $166k
- Local prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 50
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 50 openings.
- 4
Mountain View CA
$140k
- Median posted pay
- $154k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 20
Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google
Based on 20 openings.
- 5
Atlanta GA
$136k
- Median posted pay
- $137k
- Local prices vs US average
- +0%
- Openings with pay posted
- 32
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 32 openings.
- 6
New York NY
$133k
- Median posted pay
- $150k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 357
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 357 openings.
- 7
Washington DC
$129k
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- Local prices vs US average
- +9%
- Openings with pay posted
- 58
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International
Based on 58 openings.
- 8
Austin TX
$127k
- Median posted pay
- $125k
- Local prices vs US average
- −2%
- Openings with pay posted
- 39
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 39 openings.
- 9
Boston MA
$125k
- Median posted pay
- $136k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 74
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 74 openings.
- 10
San Jose CA
$113k
- Median posted pay
- $125k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 20
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 20 openings.
- 11
Chicago IL
$112k
- Median posted pay
- $116k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 83
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 83 openings.
- 12
Los Angeles CA
$106k
- Median posted pay
- $120k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 47
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 47 openings.
- 13
Denver CO
$100k
- Median posted pay
- $106k
- Local prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 28 openings.
- 14
Houston TX
$92k
- Median posted pay
- $91k
- Local prices vs US average
- −1%
- Openings with pay posted
- 23
Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy
Based on 23 openings.
- 15
Louisville KY
$89k
- Median posted pay
- $80k
- State prices vs US average
- −10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 23
Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances
Based on 23 openings.
Full ranking
All 15 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo CA | $156k | 21 |
| 2 | San Francisco CA | $151k | 226 |
| 3 | Seattle WA | $149k | 50 |
| 4 | Mountain View CA | $140k | 20 |
| 5 | Atlanta GA | $136k | 32 |
| 6 | New York NY | $133k | 357 |
| 7 | Washington DC | $129k | 58 |
| 8 | Austin TX | $127k | 39 |
| 9 | Boston MA | $125k | 74 |
| 10 | San Jose CA | $113k | 20 |
| 11 | Chicago IL | $112k | 83 |
| 12 | Los Angeles CA | $106k | 47 |
| 13 | Denver CO | $100k | 28 |
| 14 | Houston TX | $92k | 23 |
| 15 | Louisville KY | $89k | 23 |
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 hr pay after cost of living?
- San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $156k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 15 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 15 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 HR pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-hr-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-hr-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for HR pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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