Best Cities for Athletic Trainerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where athletic trainerss 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	New MexicoState	1.26	$72,440	$78,739	17%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.19	$89,630	$74,567	42%
3	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.14	$65,800	$71,522	24%
4	CaliforniaState	1.13	$78,490	$70,903	35%
5	New JerseyState	1.12	$76,210	$70,046	28%
6	GeorgiaState	1.11	$64,590	$69,154	26%
7	HawaiiState	1.11	$76,320	$69,382	38%
8	IndianaState	1.11	$62,780	$69,370	20%
9	LouisianaState	1.11	$62,760	$69,656	20%
10	OklahomaState	1.11	$61,320	$69,288	19%
11	KentuckyState	1.10	$60,680	$68,565	19%
12	MississippiState	1.10	$58,180	$68,608	18%
13	OhioState	1.09	$61,420	$67,942	20%
14	WyomingState	1.09	$63,190	$67,946	19%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$66,140	$68,326	29%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$63,430	$68,351	24%
17	MinnesotaState	1.07	$65,390	$66,724	23%
18	NebraskaState	1.07	$61,020	$66,689	21%
19	TexasState	1.07	$64,150	$67,103	26%
20	WisconsinState	1.07	$61,820	$66,977	21%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$75,390	$66,835	32%
22	ArkansasState	1.06	$57,240	$66,327	18%
23	IllinoisState	1.06	$64,750	$66,478	24%
24	MissouriState	1.06	$58,660	$66,208	21%
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$76,890	$66,000	35%
26	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$65,830	$66,161	27%
27	KansasState	1.05	$59,140	$65,711	21%
28	North DakotaState	1.05	$60,900	$65,767	19%
29	TennesseeState	1.05	$59,850	$65,410	25%
30	UtahState	1.05	$65,980	$65,848	27%
31	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$61,420	$65,690	25%
32	ConnecticutState	1.04	$69,960	$65,019	27%
33	District of ColumbiaState	1.04	$74,450	$65,136	34%
34	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$59,430	$65,164	25%
35	MassachusettsState	1.03	$70,010	$64,525	39%
36	MichiganState	1.03	$59,280	$64,225	23%
37	South CarolinaState	1.03	$59,240	$64,391	25%
38	South DakotaState	1.03	$58,620	$64,559	20%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$62,520	$64,321	30%
40	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$61,830	$64,272	30%
41	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$61,060	$62,948	25%
42	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$63,750	$63,433	28%
43	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$71,880	$63,330	43%
44	IdahoState	1.00	$60,410	$62,601	24%
45	MontanaState	1.00	$60,090	$62,334	23%
46	IowaState	0.99	$55,430	$62,141	21%
47	MaineState	0.99	$61,970	$62,094	25%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$63,840	$61,681	30%
49	ArizonaState	0.98	$61,710	$61,160	29%
50	ColoradoState	0.98	$64,580	$61,271	34%
51	VermontState	0.98	$62,910	$61,376	27%
52	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$56,510	$61,092	25%
53	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$69,980	$61,225	38%
54	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$60,450	$61,371	34%
55	FloridaState	0.97	$61,350	$60,443	34%
56	North CarolinaState	0.96	$56,540	$59,894	28%
57	VirginiaState	0.96	$61,860	$59,768	31%
58	West VirginiaState	0.96	$50,510	$59,988	20%
59	NevadaState	0.95	$59,820	$59,701	29%
60	WashingtonState	0.95	$63,750	$59,413	36%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$62,560	$59,130	32%
62	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$56,970	$59,468	32%
63	DelawareState	0.94	$59,650	$59,059	27%
64	MarylandState	0.94	$63,970	$58,581	31%
65	New YorkState	0.94	$66,230	$58,871	33%
66	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$63,560	$58,581	38%
67	New HampshireState	0.91	$60,200	$56,792	32%
68	OregonState	0.90	$57,790	$56,107	33%
69	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.88	$59,370	$55,074	36%
70	AlabamaState	0.86	$46,940	$53,892	24%

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