Best Cities for Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where bioengineers and biomedical engineerss 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	ArizonaState	1.28	$141,230	$139,970	13%
2	IdahoState	1.27	$133,750	$138,601	11%
3	MinnesotaState	1.19	$127,730	$130,337	12%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.18	$127,890	$128,533	14%
5	PennsylvaniaState	1.16	$122,560	$126,351	13%
6	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.14	$115,320	$124,670	12%
7	OhioState	1.13	$111,550	$123,396	11%
8	OklahomaState	1.13	$109,340	$123,548	11%
9	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$113,570	$121,465	14%
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.11	$125,760	$121,507	15%
11	IndianaState	1.09	$108,030	$119,370	12%
12	OregonState	1.09	$122,510	$118,942	16%
13	WisconsinState	1.09	$110,430	$119,642	12%
14	MassachusettsState	1.08	$127,570	$117,576	21%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$127,110	$117,913	17%
16	CaliforniaState	1.06	$128,310	$115,908	21%
17	TennesseeState	1.06	$106,470	$116,361	14%
18	MississippiState	1.04	$96,710	$114,045	11%
19	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$128,550	$113,260	24%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$103,960	$113,991	14%
21	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$136,450	$113,519	28%
22	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.02	$121,280	$111,779	20%
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$128,240	$110,077	21%
24	MichiganState	1.00	$100,940	$109,361	13%
25	KentuckyState	0.99	$95,360	$107,751	12%
26	South CarolinaState	0.99	$99,130	$107,750	15%
27	ColoradoState	0.96	$110,650	$104,981	20%
28	New JerseyState	0.96	$114,680	$105,404	19%
29	GeorgiaState	0.95	$96,920	$103,769	18%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$95,230	$103,511	16%
31	VirginiaState	0.94	$106,140	$102,551	18%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.93	$97,670	$101,952	18%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$99,070	$101,924	19%
34	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$100,540	$102,071	21%
35	FloridaState	0.92	$101,730	$100,227	20%
36	MissouriState	0.92	$89,480	$100,993	14%
37	North CarolinaState	0.92	$94,790	$100,413	16%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$96,920	$100,124	20%
39	AlabamaState	0.90	$85,720	$98,416	13%
40	TexasState	0.89	$92,600	$96,862	18%
41	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$110,390	$97,863	22%
42	ConnecticutState	0.88	$103,500	$96,190	18%
43	MarylandState	0.88	$105,090	$96,236	19%
44	LouisianaState	0.86	$84,320	$93,585	15%
45	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.86	$99,450	$93,998	20%
46	New YorkState	0.85	$104,010	$92,453	21%
47	IllinoisState	0.84	$89,520	$91,910	18%
48	IowaState	0.84	$81,710	$91,603	14%
49	NebraskaState	0.84	$83,890	$91,683	15%
50	UtahState	0.83	$90,870	$90,689	20%
51	New HampshireState	0.82	$94,890	$89,519	20%
52	District of ColumbiaState	0.81	$100,920	$88,294	25%
53	NevadaState	0.80	$87,850	$87,675	20%
54	ArkansasState	0.72	$67,850	$78,621	16%

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