Best cities for finance pay after cost of living
Key facts
- #1 San Mateo, CA: $162k
- #2 Mountain View, CA: $161k
- #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.
- 1San Mateo CA$162k
- 2Mountain View CA$161k
- 3Santa Clara CA$156k
- 4San Francisco CA$156k
- 5Austin TX$155k
- 6Addison TX$155k
- 7San Jose CA$143k
- 8Dallas TX$140k
- 9New York NY$136k
- 10Columbus OH$134k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: San Mateo leads on $162k, and #10 Columbus is at $134k.
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 590 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 for the same job family varies by city, and so does the cost of living. This list ranks cities on posted pay for the family after adjusting for local prices.
How to use it
Use it to see where your family's pay stretches furthest, and compare it with the city's opening count on the job-family list.
The top 25
- 2
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.
- 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
- 283
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 283 openings.
- 5
Austin TX
$155k
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- Local prices vs US average
- −2%
- Openings with pay posted
- 49
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 49 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
- 76
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 76 openings.
- 9
New York NY
$136k
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 590
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 590 openings.
- 10
Columbus OH
$134k
- Median posted pay
- $128k
- Local prices vs US average
- −5%
- Openings with pay posted
- 38
Hiring most here: State of Ohio, Nationwide, Ohio State University-Newark Campus
Based on 38 openings.
- 11
Philadelphia PA
$133k
- Median posted pay
- $136k
- Local prices vs US average
- +3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: Confidential, GSK, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Based on 28 openings.
- 12
Alpharetta GA
$132k
- Median posted pay
- $127k
- State prices vs US average
- −4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 26
Hiring most here: Morgan Stanley, Fiserv, Landis+Gyr
Based on 26 openings.
- 13
Atlanta GA
$131k
- Median posted pay
- $131k
- Local prices vs US average
- +0%
- Openings with pay posted
- 99
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 99 openings.
- 14
Sacramento CA
$131k
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- Local prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 27
Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, Nalu Medical
Based on 27 openings.
- 15
Chicago IL
$129k
- Median posted pay
- $134k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 260
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 260 openings.
- 16
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.
- 17
Los Angeles CA
$128k
- Median posted pay
- $146k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 118
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 118 openings.
- 18
Boston MA
$127k
- Median posted pay
- $138k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 68
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 68 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
Denver CO
$125k
- Median posted pay
- $133k
- Local prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 70
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 70 openings.
- 21
Charlotte NC
$124k
- Median posted pay
- $121k
- Local prices vs US average
- −3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 40
Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas
Based on 40 openings.
- 22
Washington DC
$124k
- Median posted pay
- $135k
- Local prices vs US average
- +9%
- Openings with pay posted
- 127
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI
Based on 127 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.
- 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 | San Mateo CA | $162k | 29 |
| 2 | Mountain View CA | $161k | 26 |
| 3 | Santa Clara CA | $156k | 31 |
| 4 | San Francisco CA | $156k | 283 |
| 5 | Austin TX | $155k | 49 |
| 6 | Addison TX | $155k | 31 |
| 7 | San Jose CA | $143k | 28 |
| 8 | Dallas TX | $140k | 76 |
| 9 | New York NY | $136k | 590 |
| 10 | Columbus OH | $134k | 38 |
| 11 | Philadelphia PA | $133k | 28 |
| 12 | Alpharetta GA | $132k | 26 |
| 13 | Atlanta GA | $131k | 99 |
| 14 | Sacramento CA | $131k | 27 |
| 15 | Chicago IL | $129k | 260 |
| 16 | Arlington VA | $129k | 28 |
| 17 | Los Angeles CA | $128k | 118 |
| 18 | Boston MA | $127k | 68 |
| 19 | Phoenix AZ | $126k | 40 |
| 20 | Denver CO | $125k | 70 |
| 21 | Charlotte NC | $124k | 40 |
| 22 | Washington DC | $124k | 127 |
| 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 | Cleveland OH | $116k | 25 |
| 29 | Indianapolis IN | $114k | 26 |
| 30 | Seattle WA | $113k | 66 |
| 31 | San Diego CA | $107k | 61 |
| 32 | Houston TX | $105k | 39 |
| 33 | Irvine CA | $99k | 35 |
| 34 | Tampa FL | $96k | 46 |
| 35 | Miami FL | $88k | 25 |
The jobs behind this ranking
Open finance jobs, who is hiring for them and what they pay.
- Finance jobs
- Top Finance employers
- Senior Accountant 1,388
- Staff Accountant 1,240
- Tax Manager 1,219
- Accounting Manager 1,166
- Senior Financial Analyst 1,020
- Financial Analyst 914
- Accounts Payable Specialist 652
- Accounts Receivable Specialist 527
Job titles link to their salary page where pay is posted, otherwise to the open jobs.
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?
- San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $162k 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>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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