Best Cities for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructorss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	CaliforniaState	1.50	$102,030	$92,168	27%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.38	$98,860	$84,858	27%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.30	$96,280	$80,100	39%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.29	$79,210	$79,608	22%
5	MinnesotaState	1.27	$76,800	$78,367	20%
6	DelawareState	1.26	$78,600	$77,822	21%
7	West VirginiaState	1.26	$65,050	$77,257	15%
8	LouisianaState	1.21	$66,870	$74,218	19%
9	New JerseyState	1.21	$81,100	$74,540	27%
10	WisconsinState	1.14	$64,980	$70,401	20%
11	New YorkState	1.13	$78,010	$69,342	28%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$63,650	$69,792	23%
13	North DakotaState	1.12	$63,820	$68,920	18%
14	South CarolinaState	1.11	$62,940	$68,413	24%
15	ConnecticutState	1.09	$72,180	$67,082	26%
16	TennesseeState	1.07	$60,340	$65,945	25%
17	WashingtonState	1.06	$69,990	$65,228	33%
18	IndianaState	1.05	$58,660	$64,818	22%
19	MichiganState	1.05	$59,900	$64,897	22%
20	IllinoisState	1.04	$62,370	$64,035	25%
21	OregonState	1.04	$65,700	$63,786	29%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$71,630	$62,668	37%
23	VirginiaState	1.01	$64,540	$62,357	29%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$63,520	$61,372	30%
25	ArizonaState	0.99	$61,750	$61,199	29%
26	New HampshireState	0.99	$64,440	$60,792	30%
27	VermontState	0.99	$62,500	$60,976	27%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$63,780	$60,284	32%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$57,510	$60,031	31%
30	MaineState	0.96	$58,880	$58,998	26%
31	MississippiState	0.96	$49,900	$58,844	22%
32	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$57,230	$59,000	27%
33	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$63,530	$58,933	34%
34	MissouriState	0.95	$51,770	$58,431	24%
35	MontanaState	0.95	$56,500	$58,610	24%
36	OklahomaState	0.95	$51,840	$58,576	22%
37	FloridaState	0.94	$58,920	$58,049	35%
38	KansasState	0.94	$52,030	$57,811	24%
39	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$63,010	$58,074	39%
40	MassachusettsState	0.93	$62,290	$57,410	43%
41	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$57,690	$57,403	31%
42	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$52,470	$56,724	27%
43	AlabamaState	0.91	$48,870	$56,108	24%
44	WyomingState	0.91	$52,060	$55,978	23%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$51,770	$55,787	30%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$62,940	$55,798	38%
47	District of ColumbiaState	0.89	$62,940	$55,066	40%
48	MarylandState	0.89	$59,950	$54,899	34%
49	North CarolinaState	0.89	$51,810	$54,883	30%
50	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.89	$62,020	$54,643	49%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$52,610	$54,688	35%
52	IowaState	0.87	$48,010	$53,823	24%
53	NebraskaState	0.87	$49,040	$53,596	26%
54	New MexicoState	0.87	$49,170	$53,446	26%
55	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$49,010	$53,272	32%
56	OhioState	0.85	$47,190	$52,201	27%
57	IdahoState	0.84	$50,040	$51,855	29%
58	TexasState	0.84	$49,490	$51,768	34%
59	GeorgiaState	0.83	$47,540	$50,899	36%
60	KentuckyState	0.83	$44,990	$50,836	26%
61	Columbus, OHMetro	0.82	$47,190	$50,471	33%
62	ArkansasState	0.81	$43,240	$50,104	24%
63	UtahState	0.81	$49,680	$49,581	36%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$49,250	$50,000	42%
65	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.80	$47,920	$49,504	40%
66	ColoradoState	0.79	$51,170	$48,548	43%
67	NevadaState	0.79	$48,930	$48,832	36%
68	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.76	$45,330	$46,636	42%
69	HawaiiState	0.66	$44,600	$40,545	64%
70	South DakotaState	0.64	$35,760	$39,383	32%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).