8. Boston

A city that's also a center of technological innovation, Boston's average salary is $97,266, with cost of living bringing that down to $86,664. The monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in and around the city can be a killer, with a median cost of $3,110, third highest among the 15 cities studied by Indeed, behind only New York ($3,635) and San Francisco ($4,683), according to data from Rent Jungle.

Of the 15 cities, software developers can get the best bang for the bucks in Boston, with an average annual adjusted salary of $95,047.