Best Cities for Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondarys 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	MissouriState	1.48	$130,500	$147,291	10%
2	CaliforniaState	1.16	$128,370	$115,962	21%
3	KentuckyState	1.16	$102,140	$115,412	11%
4	MichiganState	1.14	$104,890	$113,640	13%
5	New MexicoState	1.14	$104,510	$113,598	12%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$104,000	$114,035	14%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.13	$131,660	$113,013	21%
8	TennesseeState	1.08	$98,160	$107,279	15%
9	TexasState	1.07	$102,060	$106,757	16%
10	ConnecticutState	1.05	$112,860	$104,888	17%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$100,880	$104,000	15%
12	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$98,470	$101,307	19%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$100,400	$100,905	18%
14	MinnesotaState	1.00	$97,660	$99,653	16%
15	OregonState	1.00	$103,110	$100,107	19%
16	MassachusettsState	0.99	$107,390	$98,977	25%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$101,710	$98,271	19%
18	AlaskaState	0.98	$101,700	$97,507	16%
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$105,240	$97,625	20%
20	IowaState	0.97	$86,390	$96,850	13%
21	MarylandState	0.96	$104,770	$95,943	19%
22	IndianaState	0.95	$85,460	$94,431	15%
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$106,480	$93,815	29%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$105,960	$93,936	23%
25	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$106,470	$93,150	24%
26	VirginiaState	0.91	$94,260	$91,072	20%
27	New YorkState	0.89	$99,500	$88,444	22%
28	South CarolinaState	0.88	$80,370	$87,359	19%
29	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.88	$105,430	$87,712	36%
30	IllinoisState	0.87	$84,790	$87,053	19%
31	MaineState	0.86	$85,900	$86,072	18%
32	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.86	$97,490	$85,293	27%
33	OhioState	0.85	$76,440	$84,558	16%
34	WisconsinState	0.85	$77,750	$84,236	17%
35	WashingtonState	0.81	$86,160	$80,298	26%
36	ArizonaState	0.80	$80,720	$80,000	22%
37	UtahState	0.79	$78,720	$78,563	23%
38	FloridaState	0.76	$76,460	$75,330	27%
39	New JerseyState	0.76	$82,910	$76,204	26%
40	ColoradoState	0.75	$78,780	$74,744	28%
41	North CarolinaState	0.68	$64,380	$68,199	24%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.48	$45,470	$47,463	40%

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