5 Best and 5 Worst Cities for IT Salaries

IT professionals are in high demand. As an expert in your field you deserve to be paid what you’re worth, but the highest salary doesn’t always equate to the best compensation. Factors such as cost of living, commuting time and more all play a part in the decision to pack up and try somewhere new.

Each year Kforce, a professional staffing firm, releases its Salary and Employment Guide that looks at what IT skills are most in demand and what cities are paying them the most.

Cost of living index numbers are courtesy of the Council for Community and Economic Research based on based on 307 urban areas. The national average for cost of living index is based on a score of 100.

The City of Angels begins our look at the top 5 highest paying cities. In LA tech workers on average make $109,000 annually and the top paying roles are no surprise.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO: $309,400 VP/Director of Systems Engineering: $185,500 Systems Engineering Director: $152,900 ERP Application Architect: $149,900 Quality Assurance Director: $144,800

ERP makes several appearances in the countdown and LA is no different. That skillset clocks in at the 4th highest paying role.

Cost of Living Index: 129.8

Next in Kforce’s rankings is the Big Apple. In New York City IT Pros, on average, earn $100,100 a year, according to Kforce numbers. These are the 5 top paying roles there.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $248,900 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $167,500 Quality Assurance Director: $149,500 Database Architect:  $148,100 Applications Development Manager:  $136,400

This is the first city where database architect showed up in the Top 5, and New York is the only place where applications development manager makes an appearance.

Cost of Living Index: 183.1

Beantown hits the charts at number 3 on our list of where IT pros make the most. Tech workers here on average earn $111,700 annually. The top paying roles here include the following:

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $239,200 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $161,200 ERP Application Architect:  $155,000 Mobile App Developer:  $147,500 Business Intelligence Architect/Designer:  $142,500 Configuration/Release Management:  $142,500

What’s surprising here is that Boston is paying Business Intelligence architects more than anywhere else and configuration and release management makes its only appearance on our list in the Hub.

Cost of Living Index: 140.1

San Diego, also known as the City in Motion, came in at number 2. On average, IT pros in this city make $116,200 annually. Here are the roles leading the pack in San Diego, in regards to salary, for 2013.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $250,000 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $200,000 Business Application Director:  $160,000 Systems Engineering Director:  $160,000 Technical Service Director:  $160,000 Infrastructure Director:  $160,000

Cost of Living Index: 130.8

California is home to the two cities that tie for the number 1 spot. In both San Francisco and San Jose the average IT professional makes $118,300 annually. According to the Kforce’s 2014 Salary and Employment Guide these are the fives roles that top the salary list in this part of the country.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $265,000 Mobile App Developer:  $155,000 ERP Application Architect:  $152,000 Applications Development Manager:  $151,000 Quality Assurance Director:  $147,000

San Francisco Cost of Living Index: 162.7

San Jose Cost of Living Index: 151.9

The Big Peach is where we start our look at the lowest paying cities. It’s the 5th lowest paying city, according to Kforce’s research. IT workers in this region earn an average $86,900 a year. Here’s a look at the top paying roles within Atlanta.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $215,400 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $132,400 Technical Service Director:  $126,400 Applications Development Manager:  $115,800 ERP Application Architect:  $115,700

Cost of Living Index 95.0

The Steel City is number 4 on our list. Here IT professionals earn an average $85,100 annually. The roles that earn the highest salaries here include the following:

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $204,400 ERP Application Architect:  $131,100 NOC/SOC Designer:  $130,000 Technical Service Director:  $126,100 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $125,100

Network on a Chip (NOC) and System on Chip (SOC) designers makes their premiere in the Top 5 highest paying roles in this region coming in at number 3 for Pittsburgh.

Cost of Living Index 93.9

The Heart of America sits at number 3 on the list of cities where IT pros make the least on average. The average for all IT workers in this region is $83,500 and here are the top paying roles.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $156,400 Quality Assurance Director:  $119,100 ERP Application Architect:  $116,500 Data Center Manager:  $112,500 Technical Service Director:  $107,200

Cost of Living Index 99.2

Indianapolis, sometimes referred to as Circle City, is number 2 on the list of cities that pay tech workers the least. Workers here earn an average of $82,900 in salary annually. Here is what those at the top of the food chain in IT are making in Indianapolis.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $142,400 Mobile App Developer:  $132,200 IT Director:  $127,100 VP/Director of Systems Engineering:  $127,100 ERP Application Architect:  $106,800

Cost of Living Index 92.6

Grand Rapids, Mich., also known as “Furniture City” because it was the first place in the U.S. to mass produce furniture, is the lowest paying city for IT professionals, according to Kforce numbers. Tech workers in this region average $79,300 annually and the following roles are the highest paid roles in this city.

Role and Average Salary:

CIO:  $169,300 ERP Application Architect:  $102,700 Business Application Director:  $101,300 Technical Service Director:  $100,200 IT Director:  $98,000

IT Director makes its first appearance on our list in the city of Grand Rapids.

Cost of Living Index 91.5