{"h1":"Best cities for legal pay after cost of living","faq":[{"a":"San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $238k buys at average US prices.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for legal pay after cost of living?"},{"a":"20 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 20 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $238k buys at average US prices.","minN":30,"rows":[{"n":21,"key":"CA|san mateo","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-mateo","name":"San Mateo","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$275k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+16%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"21"}],"value":237889.2733564014,"change":null,"employers":["Roblox","Verkada","Skydio"],"valueLabel":"$238k"},{"n":168,"key":"CA|san francisco","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-francisco","name":"San Francisco","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$225k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+16%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"168"}],"value":194204.152249135,"change":null,"employers":["OpenAI","Anthropic","University Of California San Francisco Foundation"],"valueLabel":"$194k"},{"n":53,"key":"MA|boston","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/boston","name":"Boston","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$194k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+8%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"53"}],"value":178670.3601108033,"change":null,"employers":["Vertex Pharmaceuticals","State Street","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"$179k"},{"n":27,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$158k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−2%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"27"}],"value":160550.4587155963,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"$161k"},{"n":101,"key":"DC|washington","sub":"DC","href":"/places/district-of-columbia/city/washington","name":"Washington","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$165k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+9%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"101"}],"value":151515.1515151515,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","Shield AI","CACI International"],"valueLabel":"$152k"},{"n":43,"key":"CA|san diego","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-diego","name":"San Diego","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$160k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+12%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"43"}],"value":142984.8078641644,"change":null,"employers":["Qualcomm Inc/De","Qualcomm Technologies","General Atomics"],"valueLabel":"$143k"},{"n":26,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$149k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+6%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"26"}],"value":140359.168241966,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"$140k"},{"n":35,"key":"KY|louisville","sub":"KY","href":"/places/kentucky/city/louisville","name":"Louisville","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$125k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−10%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"35"}],"value":138580.9312638581,"change":null,"employers":["BrightSpring Health Services","Norton Healthcare","GE Appliances"],"valueLabel":"$139k"},{"n":102,"key":"CA|los angeles","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/los-angeles","name":"Los Angeles","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$157k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+14%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"102"}],"value":137984.1549295775,"change":null,"employers":["K2 Space","Cedars-sinai Medical Center","Apex Space"],"valueLabel":"$138k"},{"n":24,"key":"CA|irvine","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/irvine","name":"Irvine","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$143k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"+11%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"24"}],"value":128726.2872628726,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","Field AI","St Edwards University"],"valueLabel":"$129k"},{"n":22,"key":"WA|seattle","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/city/seattle","name":"Seattle","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$143k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+11%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"22"}],"value":128411.3411341134,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Blue Origin","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"$128k"},{"n":44,"key":"CA|sacramento","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/sacramento","name":"Sacramento","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$130k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+7%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"44"}],"value":121836.9259606373,"change":null,"employers":["Sutter Health","California Correctional Health Care Services","Nalu Medical"],"valueLabel":"$122k"},{"n":25,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$118k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"25"}],"value":119168.3569979716,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"$119k"},{"n":98,"key":"IL|chicago","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/chicago","name":"Chicago","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$123k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+4%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"98"}],"value":118243.2432432432,"change":null,"employers":["Publicis Groupe","Northern Trust","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"$118k"},{"n":282,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$129k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"282"}],"value":114342.8063943162,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"$114k"},{"n":23,"key":"NC|charlotte","sub":"NC","href":"/places/north-carolina/city/charlotte","name":"Charlotte","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$105k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"23"}],"value":107913.6690647482,"change":null,"employers":["Truist Financial","Scout Motors","SMBC Americas"],"valueLabel":"$108k"},{"n":37,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$106k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"37"}],"value":102570.3200775946,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"$103k"},{"n":28,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$113k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"28"}],"value":100263.9875666075,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"$100k"},{"n":21,"key":"PA|philadelphia","sub":"PA","href":"/places/pennsylvania/city/philadelphia","name":"Philadelphia","rank":19,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$101k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"21"}],"value":98830.40935672514,"change":null,"employers":["Confidential","Thomas Jefferson University Hospital","GSK"],"valueLabel":"$99k"},{"n":52,"key":"GA|atlanta","sub":"GA","href":"/places/georgia/city/atlanta","name":"Atlanta","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$86k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+0%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"52"}],"value":86163.83616383617,"change":null,"employers":["Emory University","Oxford College of Emory University","Capgemini Invent"],"valueLabel":"$86k"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-legal-pay-vs-cost-of-living","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Best cities for legal pay after cost of living","family":"Job families","method":["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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-02T22:06:17.622Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"fnpay","sources":["NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states)"],"baseline":{"label":"the typical city in our data","valueLabel":"$140k"},"keyFacts":["#1 San Mateo, CA: $238k","#2 San Francisco, CA: $194k","#3 Boston, MA: $179k","20 cities ranked in the United States","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: San Mateo ($238k) is well clear of Irvine at #10 ($129k).","San Mateo reaches #1 on a sample of 21 openings with pay posted, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 168 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."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-legal-pay-vs-cost-of-living"}