Best Cities for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle Schools

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where career/technical education teachers, middle schools 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	Columbus, OHMetro	1.70	$103,580	$110,781	15%
2	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.66	$100,030	$108,141	14%
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.50	$105,240	$97,625	20%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.49	$97,240	$96,756	19%
5	WashingtonState	1.48	$103,290	$96,263	22%
6	OhioState	1.47	$86,560	$95,752	14%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.39	$103,490	$90,542	25%
8	ConnecticutState	1.37	$95,680	$88,922	20%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.36	$88,000	$88,442	20%
10	UtahState	1.33	$86,890	$86,717	21%
11	MassachusettsState	1.32	$93,260	$85,954	29%
12	MinnesotaState	1.28	$81,460	$83,122	19%
13	WisconsinState	1.28	$76,860	$83,272	17%
14	IllinoisState	1.27	$80,700	$82,854	19%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.27	$79,690	$82,324	24%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.24	$77,980	$80,392	20%
17	GeorgiaState	1.20	$73,020	$78,180	23%
18	MarylandState	1.19	$84,160	$77,070	24%
19	New YorkState	1.18	$86,450	$76,844	26%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.16	$78,040	$75,401	25%
21	IowaState	1.09	$63,360	$71,031	18%
22	ArkansasState	1.08	$60,760	$70,406	17%
23	NebraskaState	1.05	$62,580	$68,393	20%
24	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$77,320	$68,546	31%
25	South CarolinaState	1.04	$62,160	$67,565	24%
26	TennesseeState	1.04	$61,950	$67,705	24%
27	WyomingState	1.04	$62,710	$67,430	19%
28	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$62,310	$67,728	25%
29	AlabamaState	1.03	$58,410	$67,061	20%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$65,310	$67,191	29%
31	TexasState	1.02	$63,330	$66,245	26%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$60,650	$66,502	24%
33	MichiganState	1.01	$60,650	$65,710	22%
34	KansasState	1.00	$58,560	$65,067	21%
35	MississippiState	1.00	$55,210	$65,106	19%
36	VirginiaState	1.00	$67,460	$65,179	28%
37	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$61,710	$64,148	30%
38	ColoradoState	0.97	$66,310	$62,913	33%
39	New JerseyState	0.97	$68,280	$62,757	32%
40	LouisianaState	0.96	$56,440	$62,642	22%
41	OklahomaState	0.94	$54,090	$61,119	21%
42	IndianaState	0.93	$54,960	$60,729	23%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$57,100	$59,603	32%
44	MissouriState	0.91	$52,630	$59,402	24%
45	FloridaState	0.89	$58,760	$57,892	35%
46	North CarolinaState	0.85	$52,270	$55,371	30%
47	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$58,160	$53,604	42%
48	North DakotaState	0.77	$46,530	$50,248	25%

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