Best Cities for Biological Scientists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where biological scientists, all others 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	1.14	$113,400	$112,277	14%
2	MarylandState	1.13	$121,680	$111,429	17%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.13	$133,790	$111,306	28%
4	MississippiState	1.09	$91,170	$107,512	12%
5	North CarolinaState	1.07	$100,070	$106,006	16%
6	OhioState	1.07	$95,560	$105,708	13%
7	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$111,530	$105,416	18%
8	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$101,740	$106,200	18%
9	MaineState	1.06	$104,570	$104,780	15%
10	ConnecticutState	1.05	$111,940	$104,033	17%
11	GeorgiaState	1.05	$96,820	$103,662	18%
12	PennsylvaniaState	1.05	$100,780	$103,897	15%
13	AlaskaState	1.04	$106,870	$102,464	15%
14	CaliforniaState	1.04	$113,530	$102,556	24%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$106,670	$103,063	18%
16	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$93,740	$101,891	17%
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$114,920	$101,879	21%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$101,750	$101,244	18%
19	WashingtonState	1.02	$108,110	$100,755	21%
20	West VirginiaState	1.02	$84,590	$100,463	12%
21	AlabamaState	1.01	$87,260	$100,184	13%
22	South CarolinaState	1.01	$91,560	$99,522	16%
23	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$97,160	$100,372	20%
24	MassachusettsState	1.00	$107,100	$98,710	25%
25	WyomingState	1.00	$91,560	$98,452	13%
26	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$110,410	$97,278	28%
27	New JerseyState	0.97	$104,750	$96,278	21%
28	MontanaState	0.96	$91,560	$94,979	15%
29	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$108,580	$94,996	24%
30	IndianaState	0.94	$84,570	$93,448	15%
31	IowaState	0.94	$82,720	$92,735	14%
32	New YorkState	0.94	$104,120	$92,551	21%
33	UtahState	0.94	$93,250	$93,064	19%
34	VirginiaState	0.94	$96,030	$92,783	20%
35	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$85,630	$92,573	17%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.93	$84,260	$92,390	17%
37	New MexicoState	0.92	$84,120	$91,435	15%
38	KentuckyState	0.91	$79,400	$89,718	14%
39	NebraskaState	0.91	$82,770	$90,459	15%
40	OklahomaState	0.91	$79,950	$90,339	15%
41	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$97,510	$89,871	25%
42	ArizonaState	0.90	$90,290	$89,485	20%
43	ColoradoState	0.90	$93,970	$89,156	24%
44	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$95,600	$88,683	23%
45	ArkansasState	0.89	$76,400	$88,528	14%
46	MichiganState	0.89	$81,540	$88,342	16%
47	TennesseeState	0.89	$80,500	$87,978	19%
48	Columbus, OHMetro	0.89	$82,010	$87,711	19%
49	HawaiiState	0.88	$95,600	$86,909	30%
50	IdahoState	0.87	$83,320	$86,342	17%
51	IllinoisState	0.86	$82,640	$84,846	19%
52	KansasState	0.86	$76,400	$84,889	16%
53	TexasState	0.86	$80,870	$84,592	21%
54	WisconsinState	0.86	$78,480	$85,027	17%
55	OregonState	0.85	$86,260	$83,748	22%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.85	$80,500	$83,680	23%
57	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$96,380	$82,730	28%
58	FloridaState	0.83	$83,780	$82,542	25%
59	South DakotaState	0.82	$73,920	$81,410	16%
60	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.82	$79,000	$81,276	24%
61	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.82	$80,540	$80,945	22%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.82	$79,780	$80,995	26%
63	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.81	$74,810	$80,614	21%
64	New HampshireState	0.80	$83,740	$79,000	23%
65	MinnesotaState	0.79	$76,400	$77,959	20%
66	LouisianaState	0.78	$69,590	$77,236	18%
67	VermontState	0.77	$77,960	$76,059	22%
68	District of ColumbiaState	0.75	$84,590	$74,007	30%
69	NevadaState	0.75	$74,210	$74,062	23%
70	MissouriState	0.72	$63,290	$71,433	20%

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