Best Cities for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where art, drama, and music 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	DelawareState	1.30	$103,320	$102,297	16%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.23	$97,580	$97,095	19%
3	VermontState	1.22	$97,980	$95,590	17%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.17	$83,550	$91,612	17%
5	CaliforniaState	1.14	$99,410	$89,801	27%
6	MichiganState	1.14	$82,990	$89,913	16%
7	New YorkState	1.12	$98,850	$87,867	22%
8	IowaState	1.11	$77,740	$87,152	15%
9	LouisianaState	1.11	$78,710	$87,358	16%
10	West VirginiaState	1.11	$73,280	$87,031	14%
11	OhioState	1.10	$78,050	$86,338	16%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$80,700	$86,310	19%
13	GeorgiaState	1.09	$79,870	$85,514	21%
14	MissouriState	1.09	$75,960	$85,734	16%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$79,610	$86,065	18%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.08	$96,900	$84,777	26%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$96,170	$84,731	32%
18	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$77,970	$84,750	20%
19	IndianaState	1.07	$76,050	$84,033	17%
20	WisconsinState	1.07	$77,560	$84,030	17%
21	NebraskaState	1.05	$75,200	$82,186	17%
22	New MexicoState	1.05	$76,240	$82,870	16%
23	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$79,010	$81,622	25%
24	MontanaState	1.03	$78,420	$81,349	17%
25	TexasState	1.03	$77,560	$81,130	21%
26	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$85,590	$80,898	24%
27	MaineState	1.02	$79,860	$80,020	19%
28	MassachusettsState	1.01	$85,820	$79,097	32%
29	MinnesotaState	1.01	$77,760	$79,347	20%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$77,280	$79,670	20%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$76,810	$79,023	25%
32	MarylandState	1.00	$85,590	$78,379	24%
33	TennesseeState	1.00	$72,030	$78,721	21%
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.00	$91,490	$78,532	30%
35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.00	$94,370	$78,511	40%
36	North CarolinaState	0.99	$73,800	$78,178	21%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$71,870	$77,446	21%
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$77,060	$77,447	23%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$72,970	$76,169	25%
40	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$78,380	$75,729	24%
41	IdahoState	0.95	$72,300	$74,922	20%
42	New HampshireState	0.95	$79,090	$74,613	24%
43	OregonState	0.95	$76,770	$74,534	25%
44	New JerseyState	0.94	$80,100	$73,621	27%
45	AlabamaState	0.93	$63,540	$72,951	18%
46	ConnecticutState	0.93	$78,600	$73,048	24%
47	KentuckyState	0.93	$64,440	$72,814	18%
48	North DakotaState	0.92	$67,190	$72,559	17%
49	VirginiaState	0.92	$74,870	$72,338	25%
50	WashingtonState	0.92	$77,950	$72,647	29%
51	ArizonaState	0.91	$72,060	$71,417	25%
52	MississippiState	0.91	$60,580	$71,439	18%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$76,710	$70,700	32%
54	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$81,050	$70,910	33%
55	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$80,190	$71,090	30%
56	ArkansasState	0.89	$60,650	$70,278	17%
57	OklahomaState	0.89	$62,200	$70,282	19%
58	South DakotaState	0.89	$63,380	$69,802	18%
59	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$66,980	$69,626	28%
60	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$75,660	$70,186	28%
61	KansasState	0.87	$61,260	$68,067	20%
62	South CarolinaState	0.86	$62,420	$67,848	24%
63	ColoradoState	0.85	$70,060	$66,471	32%
64	UtahState	0.84	$66,220	$66,088	27%
65	IllinoisState	0.82	$62,960	$64,641	25%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.82	$63,780	$64,751	32%
67	WyomingState	0.81	$59,190	$63,645	20%
68	FloridaState	0.80	$63,820	$62,877	32%
69	NevadaState	0.67	$52,870	$52,764	33%

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