Best Cities for Business Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where business teachers, postsecondarys 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	AlaskaState	1.63	$168,930	$161,965	10%
2	LouisianaState	1.45	$129,040	$143,219	10%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.41	$127,450	$139,748	11%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.34	$160,090	$133,186	24%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.33	$121,760	$131,632	12%
6	DelawareState	1.30	$130,370	$129,079	12%
7	West VirginiaState	1.25	$104,480	$124,086	10%
8	MichiganState	1.22	$111,190	$120,466	12%
9	North DakotaState	1.20	$110,050	$118,844	11%
10	CaliforniaState	1.17	$128,470	$116,052	21%
11	MarylandState	1.17	$126,560	$115,897	16%
12	UtahState	1.17	$115,870	$115,639	15%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.15	$128,370	$113,803	19%
14	MissouriState	1.14	$100,310	$113,217	12%
15	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$128,370	$112,310	20%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.13	$108,280	$111,860	18%
17	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.11	$128,470	$110,275	21%
18	TexasState	1.07	$101,210	$105,868	16%
19	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$101,760	$104,907	15%
20	WisconsinState	1.06	$96,680	$104,745	13%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$107,170	$103,546	18%
22	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$103,820	$103,303	17%
23	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$100,610	$103,508	19%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.03	$101,770	$102,281	17%
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$107,120	$101,248	19%
26	VirginiaState	1.01	$103,860	$100,348	18%
27	NevadaState	1.00	$98,920	$98,723	18%
28	VermontState	1.00	$101,170	$98,702	17%
29	MinnesotaState	0.99	$95,820	$97,776	16%
30	IllinoisState	0.98	$94,770	$97,300	17%
31	NebraskaState	0.98	$88,690	$96,929	14%
32	OregonState	0.98	$100,180	$97,262	19%
33	ConnecticutState	0.97	$103,750	$96,422	18%
34	IndianaState	0.97	$86,640	$95,735	15%
35	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$103,130	$95,668	21%
36	MassachusettsState	0.96	$103,110	$95,032	26%
37	AlabamaState	0.95	$82,170	$94,340	14%
38	TennesseeState	0.95	$85,950	$93,934	18%
39	IowaState	0.94	$83,200	$93,274	14%
40	New YorkState	0.94	$104,490	$92,880	21%
41	OklahomaState	0.94	$82,060	$92,723	14%
42	WashingtonState	0.94	$100,390	$93,560	23%
43	KansasState	0.93	$83,310	$92,567	15%
44	New MexicoState	0.92	$83,980	$91,283	15%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$103,110	$90,846	30%
46	KentuckyState	0.91	$80,140	$90,554	14%
47	MississippiState	0.90	$75,680	$89,245	14%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$101,930	$89,178	26%
49	GeorgiaState	0.89	$82,820	$88,672	21%
50	OhioState	0.89	$79,770	$88,241	16%
51	IdahoState	0.88	$84,190	$87,244	17%
52	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$80,670	$86,278	19%
53	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.87	$79,790	$85,981	19%
54	South CarolinaState	0.86	$78,830	$85,685	19%
55	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$78,360	$85,174	20%
56	MontanaState	0.85	$81,490	$84,533	17%
57	North CarolinaState	0.85	$79,600	$84,322	20%
58	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.85	$80,660	$83,846	23%
59	MaineState	0.84	$83,250	$83,417	19%
60	ArizonaState	0.82	$81,600	$80,872	22%
61	South DakotaState	0.81	$72,650	$80,011	16%
62	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$78,610	$79,807	26%
63	New HampshireState	0.79	$83,070	$78,368	23%
64	New JerseyState	0.79	$85,250	$78,355	25%
65	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.79	$74,530	$77,797	24%
66	FloridaState	0.78	$78,870	$77,704	26%
67	ArkansasState	0.76	$64,620	$74,878	16%
68	ColoradoState	0.75	$78,210	$74,203	28%
69	WyomingState	0.75	$69,550	$74,785	17%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$81,050	$74,700	30%
71	HawaiiState	0.71	$76,860	$69,873	37%

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