Best Cities for Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where area, ethnic, and cultural studies 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	KansasState	1.40	$107,120	$119,022	12%
2	New HampshireState	1.39	$125,450	$118,349	15%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.26	$129,270	$107,546	29%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.22	$104,460	$103,940	17%
5	MaineState	1.21	$103,060	$103,267	15%
6	PennsylvaniaState	1.16	$96,010	$98,979	16%
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.15	$101,180	$97,758	19%
8	CaliforniaState	1.12	$105,220	$95,050	26%
9	MichiganState	1.12	$87,840	$95,168	15%
10	IndianaState	1.10	$84,970	$93,890	15%
11	ConnecticutState	1.09	$99,900	$92,844	19%
12	IllinoisState	1.09	$90,030	$92,433	17%
13	MassachusettsState	1.09	$100,470	$92,599	27%
14	New YorkState	1.06	$101,800	$90,489	22%
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$101,700	$90,160	24%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$101,700	$88,976	25%
17	New JerseyState	1.05	$97,500	$89,614	22%
18	OhioState	1.04	$80,060	$88,562	16%
19	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$100,140	$88,229	31%
20	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$102,030	$87,579	27%
21	OklahomaState	1.02	$76,600	$86,554	15%
22	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$78,230	$85,779	19%
23	WisconsinState	1.00	$78,770	$85,341	17%
24	KentuckyState	0.99	$74,690	$84,395	15%
25	West VirginiaState	0.99	$71,200	$84,561	14%
26	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$95,980	$83,972	27%
27	GeorgiaState	0.98	$77,630	$83,116	22%
28	MarylandState	0.98	$91,330	$83,636	22%
29	MinnesotaState	0.98	$81,580	$83,245	19%
30	VirginiaState	0.98	$85,960	$83,053	22%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$80,980	$83,657	24%
32	UtahState	0.97	$82,990	$82,824	22%
33	MontanaState	0.96	$78,690	$81,629	17%
34	TennesseeState	0.96	$75,060	$82,033	20%
35	WyomingState	0.96	$76,170	$81,903	16%
36	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.96	$81,220	$81,628	22%
37	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$83,910	$79,310	24%
38	AlaskaState	0.92	$81,700	$78,332	20%
39	OregonState	0.92	$80,310	$77,971	24%
40	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$76,080	$78,272	25%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$71,930	$78,185	22%
42	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.90	$73,010	$76,211	25%
43	TexasState	0.89	$72,250	$75,575	23%
44	WashingtonState	0.89	$81,410	$75,871	28%
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$81,120	$75,250	27%
46	ArizonaState	0.88	$75,680	$75,005	24%
47	ColoradoState	0.88	$79,190	$75,133	28%
48	AlabamaState	0.85	$63,090	$72,434	18%
49	North CarolinaState	0.83	$66,470	$70,413	23%
50	South CarolinaState	0.82	$64,500	$70,109	23%
51	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.79	$66,520	$67,533	31%
52	FloridaState	0.77	$66,520	$65,537	31%

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