Top 5 Cities to Earn as an IT Employee
February 16, 2012 3 Comments
Having lived in the Midwest my entire life, the idea of moving to a big city, with its increased cost of living, was overwhelming. Nonetheless, over the past several years I’ve fantasized about living and working in different US cities. There are many good reasons to move across the country (away from family): 
- Startup Hubs (e.g. Silicon Valley)
- Top Notch Universities (e.g. The Research Triangle)
- Better Weather (e.g. Southern California)
- Better Geography (e.g. near the Ocean or Mountains)
- Access to Specific Industries (e.g. Fashion in New York)
However, the cost of living difference between cities (and the decreasing value of my salary) have always been at the forefront of my thoughts.
One way I tried to overcome my hesitation to move was with research. Using Salary.com, I calculated the increase in cost of living compared to my current city. This helped me to analyze just how much more it would cost to live somewhere else. The ratios were drastic, yet I knew I had to be missing something.
As a software developer, I’ve been using Robert Half Technology’s Salary Guides throughout my professional career as a way to compare my own salary against the average developer in my hometown. They’re a great resource. After all, they’ve been creating the guides since 1950.
I soon realized that the cost of living changes are not created equal for all careers. Likewise, a developer that moves to a technology hub will get paid more in that location. The more important ratio to analyze is very simple: %Salary Difference – %Cost of Living Difference. A more positive number is therefore better.
Results
I compared 105 cities that had ratings in the 2 guides above. Using Cincinnati, OH (my current location) as the comparison, I came up with several big cities that actually have a positive impact on salary value.
Best value cities for someone in IT
|
Locale |
Salary Vs Cincinnati % |
Cost of Living % |
Difference |
|
Houston, TX |
106.7 |
95.4 |
11.3 |
|
Salt Lake City, UT |
102.6 |
92.7 |
9.9 |
|
Memphis, TN |
97.4 |
93.3 |
4.1 |
|
Raleigh, NC |
106.7 |
104.2 |
2.5 |
|
Austin, TX |
106.2 |
104.3 |
1.9 |
The worst values were also highly interesting
|
Locale |
Salary Vs Cincinnati % |
Cost of Living % |
Difference |
|
Honolulu, HI |
94.4 |
189.7 |
-95.3 |
|
New York, NY |
144.6 |
203.7 |
-59.1 |
|
Washington, DC |
133.3 |
176.7 |
-43.4 |
|
San Francisco, CA |
139.0 |
180.3 |
-41.3 |
|
San Diego, CA |
117.9 |
156 |
-38.1 |
Conclusion
I must admit I am rather surprised by this list in which I also discovered that Cincinnati ranks #9 out of the 105 cities. Perhaps the reason my instinct is to stay put is because I’ve been pretty spoiled.
About Stu
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Midwest Developer Insights 
That’s really interesting. I’ve always figured the growth of the Internet would cause a shift in stats like these due to the advantage of both options becoming more available. Think the changes in these stats over time would reflect that?
I think you’re on to something. As remote work arrangements become more prevalent, the differences in location-based salaries should flatten. Therefore, the best of both worlds would be to work remotely from a city with a low cost of living but to earn a salary that was closer to that provided at the location of headquarters.
So Cincinnati is #9 on the top list? Not bad!
Now the real question is, how does the virtual world affect this? Get paid New York money (or New York consulting rates) to live in Cinci – best of both worlds!!!