Best Cities for Atmospheric and Space Scientistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where atmospheric and space scientistss 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.41	$127,070	$139,331	12%
2	MissouriState	1.30	$114,230	$128,928	11%
3	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.28	$117,810	$126,950	13%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$125,590	$126,221	14%
5	IdahoState	1.25	$119,430	$123,762	12%
6	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.25	$122,280	$124,142	17%
7	KansasState	1.23	$109,300	$121,444	11%
8	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.23	$128,800	$121,739	16%
9	New MexicoState	1.21	$110,070	$119,641	11%
10	MarylandState	1.19	$128,800	$117,949	16%
11	KentuckyState	1.18	$103,240	$116,655	11%
12	IllinoisState	1.16	$112,280	$115,277	14%
13	IndianaState	1.16	$103,680	$114,564	12%
14	ArizonaState	1.15	$115,020	$113,994	16%
15	FloridaState	1.15	$115,960	$114,246	18%
16	CaliforniaState	1.14	$124,920	$112,846	22%
17	MontanaState	1.14	$108,890	$112,956	12%
18	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.14	$122,700	$113,088	20%
19	MichiganState	1.13	$103,210	$111,820	13%
20	HawaiiState	1.11	$121,010	$110,009	24%
21	New JerseyState	1.11	$120,180	$110,460	18%
22	NevadaState	1.10	$109,300	$109,082	16%
23	OregonState	1.10	$112,260	$108,990	17%
24	LouisianaState	1.09	$97,470	$108,180	13%
25	MinnesotaState	1.09	$106,270	$108,439	14%
26	WyomingState	1.08	$99,940	$107,462	12%
27	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.08	$103,380	$107,464	18%
28	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$103,080	$106,488	19%
29	TennesseeState	1.06	$96,190	$105,126	16%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$113,550	$105,334	19%
31	GeorgiaState	1.05	$96,820	$103,662	18%
32	MaineState	1.05	$103,710	$103,918	15%
33	New YorkState	1.05	$117,540	$104,480	19%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$117,600	$104,255	20%
35	MassachusettsState	1.01	$108,050	$99,585	25%
36	ColoradoState	1.00	$104,670	$99,307	21%
37	North DakotaState	1.00	$91,560	$98,877	13%
38	North CarolinaState	0.98	$91,560	$96,992	17%
39	UtahState	0.97	$96,520	$96,327	19%
40	West VirginiaState	0.97	$80,690	$95,831	12%
41	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$111,790	$95,957	24%
42	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.96	$108,040	$95,189	28%
43	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$92,790	$95,463	20%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$87,110	$94,685	18%
45	AlabamaState	0.94	$81,080	$93,088	14%
46	WisconsinState	0.94	$85,870	$93,034	15%
47	District of ColumbiaState	0.92	$103,860	$90,866	24%
48	AlaskaState	0.91	$94,380	$90,489	17%
49	South CarolinaState	0.90	$82,240	$89,391	18%
50	TexasState	0.90	$84,990	$88,902	20%
51	WashingtonState	0.89	$94,400	$87,978	24%
52	OhioState	0.88	$78,580	$86,925	16%
53	South DakotaState	0.88	$78,900	$86,894	15%
54	IowaState	0.87	$76,850	$86,155	15%
55	OklahomaState	0.87	$76,480	$86,418	15%
56	ArkansasState	0.84	$71,940	$83,360	15%
57	VirginiaState	0.82	$83,880	$81,043	23%
58	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.82	$92,600	$81,015	28%
59	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.81	$82,980	$80,174	23%
60	ConnecticutState	0.80	$85,110	$79,099	22%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.79	$75,890	$78,237	20%
62	NebraskaState	0.67	$60,540	$66,164	21%
63	New HampshireState	0.41	$42,820	$40,396	44%

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