Best US Cities for Recruiters
Top US cities for Recruiters ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $87,200 | 1.45× | +$24,200 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $82,300 | 1.32× | +$19,300 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $81,500 | 1.30× | +$18,500 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $79,600 | 1.35× | +$16,600 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $76,800 | 1.18× | +$13,800 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $74,800 | 1.22× | +$11,800 |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $74,500 | 1.21× | +$11,500 |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $74,100 | 1.20× | +$11,100 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $73,400 | 1.18× | +$10,400 |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $73,400 | 1.30× | +$10,400 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $87,200 | $42/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $82,300 | $40/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $81,500 | $39/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $79,600 | $38/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $76,800 | $37/hr |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $74,800 | $36/hr |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $74,500 | $36/hr |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $74,100 | $36/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $73,400 | $35/hr |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $73,400 | $35/hr |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $71,800 | $35/hr |
| 12 | Frisco, TX | $71,800 | $35/hr |
| 13 | Plano, TX | $71,500 | $34/hr |
| 14 | Miami, FL | $71,200 | $34/hr |
| 15 | Tampa, FL | $70,700 | $34/hr |
| 16 | Salt Lake City, UT | $70,700 | $34/hr |
| 17 | Los Angeles, CA | $70,600 | $34/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $70,500 | $34/hr |
| 19 | Newark, NJ | $70,500 | $34/hr |
| 20 | Sacramento, CA | $70,500 | $34/hr |
| 21 | Anchorage, AK | $69,900 | $34/hr |
| 22 | Denver, CO | $69,700 | $34/hr |
| 23 | Dallas, TX | $69,600 | $33/hr |
| 24 | St. Petersburg, FL | $69,600 | $33/hr |
| 25 | Long Beach, CA | $69,200 | $33/hr |
| 26 | Anaheim, CA | $69,200 | $33/hr |
| 27 | Austin, TX | $68,600 | $33/hr |
| 28 | Minneapolis, MN | $68,300 | $33/hr |
| 29 | Chandler, AZ | $68,300 | $33/hr |
| 30 | Chula Vista, CA | $68,200 | $33/hr |
| 31 | Milwaukee, WI | $67,600 | $33/hr |
| 32 | Phoenix, AZ | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 33 | Philadelphia, PA | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 34 | Atlanta, GA | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $67,500 | $32/hr |
| 37 | Columbus, OH | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 38 | Kansas City, MO | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 39 | Wilmington, DE | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 40 | Raleigh, NC | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 41 | St. Paul, MN | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 42 | Boise, ID | $66,800 | $32/hr |
| 43 | Nashville, TN | $66,500 | $32/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $66,500 | $32/hr |
| 45 | Madison, WI | $66,500 | $32/hr |
| 46 | Omaha, NE | $66,000 | $32/hr |
| 47 | Charlotte, NC | $65,700 | $32/hr |
| 48 | Pittsburgh, PA | $65,000 | $31/hr |
| 49 | Baltimore, MD | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 50 | Stockton, CA | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 51 | Aurora, CO | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 52 | Hialeah, FL | $64,700 | $31/hr |
| 53 | Albuquerque, NM | $64,600 | $31/hr |
| 54 | Las Vegas, NV | $64,400 | $31/hr |
| 55 | Detroit, MI | $63,800 | $31/hr |
| 56 | Buffalo, NY | $63,800 | $31/hr |
| 57 | Henderson, NV | $63,700 | $31/hr |
| 58 | Charleston, SC | $63,700 | $31/hr |
| 59 | Cleveland, OH | $63,500 | $31/hr |
| 60 | Winston-Salem, NC | $63,500 | $31/hr |
| 61 | Orlando, FL | $63,300 | $30/hr |
| 62 | Virginia Beach, VA | $63,000 | $30/hr |
| 63 | Chesapeake, VA | $63,000 | $30/hr |
| 64 | North Las Vegas, NV | $63,000 | $30/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $63,000 | $30/hr |
| 66 | Worcester, MA | $63,000 | $30/hr |
| 67 | Lincoln, NE | $62,800 | $30/hr |
| 68 | Colorado Springs, CO | $62,700 | $30/hr |
| 69 | Bakersfield, CA | $62,700 | $30/hr |
| 70 | Norfolk, VA | $62,300 | $30/hr |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | $62,000 | $30/hr |
| 72 | Mesa, AZ | $62,000 | $30/hr |
| 73 | Houston, TX | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 74 | Fort Worth, TX | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 75 | Tucson, AZ | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 79 | Fort Wayne, IN | $61,600 | $30/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $61,300 | $29/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $61,300 | $29/hr |
| 82 | New Orleans, LA | $60,900 | $29/hr |
| 83 | San Antonio, TX | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $60,600 | $29/hr |
| 85 | Cincinnati, OH | $60,200 | $29/hr |
| 86 | Lexington, KY | $60,200 | $29/hr |
| 87 | Corpus Christi, TX | $60,200 | $29/hr |
| 88 | Greensboro, NC | $60,200 | $29/hr |
| 89 | Knoxville, TN | $60,200 | $29/hr |
| 90 | El Paso, TX | $59,900 | $29/hr |
| 91 | St. Louis, MO | $59,900 | $29/hr |
| 92 | Indianapolis, IN | $59,500 | $29/hr |
| 93 | Louisville, KY | $59,500 | $29/hr |
| 94 | Memphis, TN | $59,200 | $28/hr |
| 95 | Oklahoma City, OK | $59,200 | $28/hr |
| 96 | Birmingham, AL | $58,800 | $28/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $58,800 | $28/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $58,800 | $28/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $58,100 | $28/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $58,100 | $28/hr |
Does location actually decide Recruiter pay?
Recruiter work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $58,100 in Mobile to $87,200 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $87,200 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $51,200 a year after housing. In Mobile, $58,100 against $850 leaves about $47,900. The top still wins after rent, but by $3,300 rather than the $29,100 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). A Recruiter at a large employer in a metro where business work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
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.