Best US Cities for Customer Service Reps
Top US cities for Customer Service Reps ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $48,800 | 1.45× | +$10,800 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $47,000 | 1.32× | +$9,000 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $46,600 | 1.30× | +$8,600 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $45,300 | 1.35× | +$7,300 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $44,800 | 1.18× | +$6,800 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $43,400 | 1.22× | +$5,400 |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $43,200 | 1.21× | +$5,200 |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $43,100 | 1.20× | +$5,100 |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $43,000 | 1.05× | +$5,000 |
| 10 | Frisco, TX | $43,000 | 1.05× | +$5,000 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $48,800 | $23/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $47,000 | $23/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $46,600 | $22/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $45,300 | $22/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $44,800 | $22/hr |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $43,400 | $21/hr |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $43,200 | $21/hr |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $43,100 | $21/hr |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 10 | Frisco, TX | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 11 | Seattle, WA | $42,800 | $21/hr |
| 12 | Plano, TX | $42,700 | $21/hr |
| 13 | Tampa, FL | $42,500 | $20/hr |
| 14 | Salt Lake City, UT | $42,500 | $20/hr |
| 15 | Dallas, TX | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 16 | St. Petersburg, FL | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 17 | Miami, FL | $42,000 | $20/hr |
| 18 | Honolulu, HI | $42,000 | $20/hr |
| 19 | Portland, OR | $41,700 | $20/hr |
| 20 | Newark, NJ | $41,700 | $20/hr |
| 21 | Sacramento, CA | $41,700 | $20/hr |
| 22 | Denver, CO | $41,400 | $20/hr |
| 23 | Milwaukee, WI | $41,300 | $20/hr |
| 24 | Austin, TX | $41,000 | $20/hr |
| 25 | Columbus, OH | $41,000 | $20/hr |
| 26 | Kansas City, MO | $41,000 | $20/hr |
| 27 | Los Angeles, CA | $40,900 | $20/hr |
| 28 | Minneapolis, MN | $40,800 | $20/hr |
| 29 | Chandler, AZ | $40,800 | $20/hr |
| 30 | Omaha, NE | $40,700 | $20/hr |
| 31 | Anchorage, AK | $40,700 | $20/hr |
| 32 | Phoenix, AZ | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 33 | Philadelphia, PA | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 34 | Atlanta, GA | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 37 | Long Beach, CA | $40,400 | $19/hr |
| 38 | Anaheim, CA | $40,400 | $19/hr |
| 39 | Wilmington, DE | $40,300 | $19/hr |
| 40 | Raleigh, NC | $40,300 | $19/hr |
| 41 | St. Paul, MN | $40,300 | $19/hr |
| 42 | Boise, ID | $40,300 | $19/hr |
| 43 | Nashville, TN | $40,200 | $19/hr |
| 44 | Madison, WI | $40,200 | $19/hr |
| 45 | Chula Vista, CA | $40,000 | $19/hr |
| 46 | Charlotte, NC | $39,900 | $19/hr |
| 47 | Pittsburgh, PA | $39,500 | $19/hr |
| 48 | Albuquerque, NM | $39,400 | $19/hr |
| 49 | Riverside, CA | $39,300 | $19/hr |
| 50 | Detroit, MI | $39,100 | $19/hr |
| 51 | Buffalo, NY | $39,100 | $19/hr |
| 52 | Cleveland, OH | $39,000 | $19/hr |
| 53 | Winston-Salem, NC | $39,000 | $19/hr |
| 54 | Baltimore, MD | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 55 | Stockton, CA | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 56 | Aurora, CO | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 57 | Hialeah, FL | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 58 | Lincoln, NE | $38,700 | $19/hr |
| 59 | Las Vegas, NV | $38,500 | $19/hr |
| 60 | Henderson, NV | $38,300 | $18/hr |
| 61 | Fort Wayne, IN | $38,300 | $18/hr |
| 62 | Charleston, SC | $38,300 | $18/hr |
| 63 | Orlando, FL | $38,100 | $18/hr |
| 64 | Virginia Beach, VA | $38,000 | $18/hr |
| 65 | Chesapeake, VA | $38,000 | $18/hr |
| 66 | North Las Vegas, NV | $38,000 | $18/hr |
| 67 | Fresno, CA | $38,000 | $18/hr |
| 68 | Worcester, MA | $38,000 | $18/hr |
| 69 | Colorado Springs, CO | $37,900 | $18/hr |
| 70 | Bakersfield, CA | $37,900 | $18/hr |
| 71 | Norfolk, VA | $37,700 | $18/hr |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | $37,600 | $18/hr |
| 73 | Mesa, AZ | $37,600 | $18/hr |
| 74 | Houston, TX | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 75 | Fort Worth, TX | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 77 | Glendale, AZ | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 78 | Garland, TX | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 79 | Spokane, WA | $37,500 | $18/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $37,300 | $18/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $37,300 | $18/hr |
| 82 | New Orleans, LA | $37,200 | $18/hr |
| 83 | San Antonio, TX | $37,100 | $18/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $37,100 | $18/hr |
| 85 | Cincinnati, OH | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 86 | Lexington, KY | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 87 | Corpus Christi, TX | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 88 | Greensboro, NC | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 89 | Knoxville, TN | $36,900 | $18/hr |
| 90 | El Paso, TX | $36,800 | $18/hr |
| 91 | St. Louis, MO | $36,800 | $18/hr |
| 92 | Indianapolis, IN | $36,700 | $18/hr |
| 93 | Louisville, KY | $36,700 | $18/hr |
| 94 | Memphis, TN | $36,500 | $18/hr |
| 95 | Oklahoma City, OK | $36,500 | $18/hr |
| 96 | Birmingham, AL | $36,400 | $18/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $36,400 | $18/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $36,400 | $18/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $36,100 | $17/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $36,100 | $17/hr |
Does location actually decide Customer Service Rep pay?
Before the ranking: Customer Service Rep work can be done fully remotely, which makes this list less binding than it looks. The spread from Mobile at $36,100 to San Francisco at $48,800 is 35%, but a remote role lets you take a high-metro salary while paying low-metro housing — usually worth more than moving for the top of this list.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In San Francisco, $48,800 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $12,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $36,100 against $850 leaves about $25,900. The bottom of the pay list beats the top once rent is subtracted — which is the whole reason to look past headline salary.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). Depth of demand for business work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.