NextChapter

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 $158k buys at average US prices.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 San Mateo, CA: $158k
  • #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.

  1. 1San Mateo CA$158k
  2. 2San Francisco CA$151k
  3. 3Seattle WA$149k
  4. 4Mountain View CA$140k
  5. 5Atlanta GA$138k
  6. 6New York NY$133k
  7. 7Washington DC$129k
  8. 8Austin TX$127k
  9. 9Boston MA$125k
  10. 10San Jose CA$113k

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: San Mateo leads on $158k, 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 362 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

  1. 1

    San Mateo CA

    $158k

    Median posted pay
    $183k
    Local prices vs US average
    +16%
    Openings with pay posted
    22

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 22 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  2. 2

    San Francisco CA

    $151k

    Median posted pay
    $175k
    Local prices vs US average
    +16%
    Openings with pay posted
    230

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 230 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  3. 3

    Seattle WA

    $149k

    Median posted pay
    $165k
    Local prices vs US average
    +11%
    Openings with pay posted
    51

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 51 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  4. 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.

    Jobs and employers in Mountain View

  5. 5

    Atlanta GA

    $138k

    Median posted pay
    $138k
    Local prices vs US average
    +0%
    Openings with pay posted
    35

    Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent

    Based on 35 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Atlanta

  6. 6

    New York NY

    $133k

    Median posted pay
    $150k
    Local prices vs US average
    +13%
    Openings with pay posted
    362

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 362 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  7. 7

    Washington DC

    $129k

    Median posted pay
    $140k
    Local prices vs US average
    +9%
    Openings with pay posted
    59

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI

    Based on 59 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Washington

  8. 8

    Austin TX

    $127k

    Median posted pay
    $125k
    Local prices vs US average
    −2%
    Openings with pay posted
    40

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 40 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  9. 9

    Boston MA

    $125k

    Median posted pay
    $136k
    Local prices vs US average
    +8%
    Openings with pay posted
    76

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 76 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  10. 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.

    Jobs and employers in San Jose

  11. 11

    Chicago IL

    $112k

    Median posted pay
    $116k
    Local prices vs US average
    +4%
    Openings with pay posted
    85

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 85 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chicago

  12. 12

    Los Angeles CA

    $106k

    Median posted pay
    $120k
    Local prices vs US average
    +14%
    Openings with pay posted
    48

    Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space

    Based on 48 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  13. 13

    Denver CO

    $97k

    Median posted pay
    $103k
    Local prices vs US average
    +6%
    Openings with pay posted
    29

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 29 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Denver

  14. 14

    Houston TX

    $94k

    Median posted pay
    $93k
    Local prices vs US average
    −1%
    Openings with pay posted
    25

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 25 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  15. 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.

    Jobs and employers in Louisville

Full ranking

All 15 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1San Mateo CA$158k22
2San Francisco CA$151k230
3Seattle WA$149k51
4Mountain View CA$140k20
5Atlanta GA$138k35
6New York NY$133k362
7Washington DC$129k59
8Austin TX$127k40
9Boston MA$125k76
10San Jose CA$113k20
11Chicago IL$112k85
12Los Angeles CA$106k48
13Denver CO$97k29
14Houston TX$94k25
15Louisville KY$89k23

The jobs behind this ranking

Open human resources jobs, who is hiring for them and what they pay.

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 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 $158k 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>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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