Best Cities for Biochemists and Biophysicistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where biochemists and biophysicistss 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	FloridaState	1.22	$157,390	$155,064	13%
2	TennesseeState	1.15	$134,560	$147,060	11%
3	PennsylvaniaState	1.08	$134,090	$138,237	12%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$130,670	$134,434	15%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$125,020	$135,157	11%
6	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.05	$145,550	$134,147	17%
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$134,090	$129,556	14%
8	CaliforniaState	0.99	$139,580	$126,089	19%
9	ConnecticutState	0.97	$132,670	$123,299	14%
10	MassachusettsState	0.95	$131,600	$121,290	21%
11	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$111,320	$121,000	14%
12	MichiganState	0.93	$109,340	$118,462	12%
13	South CarolinaState	0.93	$109,080	$118,565	14%
14	WisconsinState	0.91	$106,480	$115,363	12%
15	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.91	$131,550	$115,903	23%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.90	$104,160	$114,211	14%
17	IowaState	0.89	$101,090	$113,330	11%
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$131,700	$113,047	21%
19	New JerseyState	0.88	$122,620	$112,702	18%
20	KansasState	0.85	$97,850	$108,722	13%
21	District of ColumbiaState	0.82	$120,090	$105,066	21%
22	New HampshireState	0.81	$109,770	$103,557	17%
23	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.81	$98,820	$103,152	18%
24	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.81	$95,990	$103,438	16%
25	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.81	$124,050	$103,203	30%
26	TexasState	0.80	$97,510	$101,998	17%
27	VirginiaState	0.80	$105,780	$102,203	18%
28	DelawareState	0.79	$101,880	$100,871	16%
29	OhioState	0.78	$90,000	$99,558	14%
30	ArkansasState	0.75	$82,390	$95,469	13%
31	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.73	$98,650	$93,242	20%
32	GeorgiaState	0.72	$85,680	$91,734	20%
33	MarylandState	0.72	$100,650	$92,170	20%
34	WashingtonState	0.72	$98,840	$92,116	23%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.72	$103,660	$91,897	23%
36	New YorkState	0.71	$101,080	$89,849	22%
37	IllinoisState	0.70	$87,010	$89,333	18%
38	MissouriState	0.70	$79,550	$89,786	16%
39	North CarolinaState	0.68	$82,220	$87,097	19%
40	MaineState	0.67	$84,560	$84,729	18%
41	KentuckyState	0.66	$74,710	$84,418	15%
42	MinnesotaState	0.65	$81,280	$82,939	19%
43	UtahState	0.64	$81,990	$81,826	22%
44	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.64	$81,380	$81,789	22%
45	OklahomaState	0.61	$69,130	$78,113	17%
46	Rhode IslandState	0.60	$76,710	$76,328	24%
47	NebraskaState	0.57	$66,910	$73,126	19%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.55	$79,550	$69,598	33%
49	NevadaState	0.54	$69,220	$69,082	25%
50	AlabamaState	0.44	$48,510	$55,695	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).