Best cities for media and entertainment 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 San Mateo, CA: $209k
- #2 Redmond, WA: $158k
- #3 San Francisco, CA: $153k
- 9 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $133k across the typical city in our data.
- 1San Mateo CA$209k
- 2Redmond WA$158k
- 3San Francisco CA$153k
- 4Culver City CA$149k
- 5Los Angeles CA$134k
- 6Denver CO$133k
- 7New York NY$124k
- 8Chicago IL$119k
- 9New York NY$100k
What stands out
- New York reaches #9 on a sample of 22 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 291 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
- 3
San Francisco CA
$153k
- Median posted pay
- $176k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 62
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 62 openings.
- 4
Culver City CA
$149k
- Median posted pay
- $165k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Amazon, Scopely, Apple
Based on 24 openings.
- 5
Los Angeles CA
$134k
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 111
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 111 openings.
- 6
Denver CO
$133k
- Median posted pay
- $141k
- Local prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 27
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 27 openings.
- 7
New York NY
$124k
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 291
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 291 openings.
- 8
Chicago IL
$119k
- Median posted pay
- $124k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 56
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 56 openings.
- 9
New York NY
$100k
- Median posted pay
- $112k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 22
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 22 openings.
Full ranking
All 9 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo CA | $209k | 46 |
| 2 | Redmond WA | $158k | 26 |
| 3 | San Francisco CA | $153k | 62 |
| 4 | Culver City CA | $149k | 24 |
| 5 | Los Angeles CA | $134k | 111 |
| 6 | Denver CO | $133k | 27 |
| 7 | New York NY | $124k | 291 |
| 8 | Chicago IL | $119k | 56 |
| 9 | New York NY | $100k | 22 |
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 media and entertainment pay after cost of living?
- San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $209k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 9 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 9 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 media and entertainment pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-media-and-entertainment-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-media-and-entertainment-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for media and entertainment 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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