Best Cities for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where career/technical education 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	WisconsinState	1.40	$82,620	$89,512	16%
2	South CarolinaState	1.36	$79,610	$86,533	19%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$80,370	$80,774	22%
4	South DakotaState	1.26	$72,940	$80,330	16%
5	WyomingState	1.25	$74,210	$79,796	16%
6	North DakotaState	1.24	$73,570	$79,449	16%
7	MinnesotaState	1.23	$76,920	$78,490	20%
8	West VirginiaState	1.21	$65,200	$77,435	15%
9	OklahomaState	1.19	$67,060	$75,774	17%
10	AlaskaState	1.16	$77,310	$74,123	21%
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.16	$89,110	$74,135	42%
12	MassachusettsState	1.14	$78,780	$72,608	34%
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.14	$82,420	$72,617	37%
14	AlabamaState	1.13	$62,580	$71,848	18%
15	WashingtonState	1.13	$77,530	$72,255	29%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$81,010	$70,875	33%
17	IowaState	1.09	$62,270	$69,809	18%
18	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$63,250	$69,353	23%
19	CaliforniaState	1.08	$76,630	$69,223	35%
20	KentuckyState	1.08	$61,080	$69,017	19%
21	MichiganState	1.08	$63,440	$68,732	21%
22	TennesseeState	1.07	$62,310	$68,098	24%
23	TexasState	1.07	$65,180	$68,180	25%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.07	$62,810	$68,272	25%
25	MissouriState	1.05	$59,640	$67,314	21%
26	New YorkState	1.05	$75,170	$66,818	30%
27	OhioState	1.05	$60,600	$67,035	21%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$62,690	$67,048	25%
29	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$64,700	$67,256	29%
30	ColoradoState	1.04	$70,130	$66,537	32%
31	NebraskaState	1.04	$60,490	$66,109	21%
32	New JerseyState	1.04	$72,440	$66,581	30%
33	North CarolinaState	1.04	$62,390	$66,091	25%
34	New MexicoState	1.03	$60,490	$65,750	21%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$63,160	$65,113	25%
36	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$65,210	$64,886	28%
37	ArizonaState	1.01	$64,930	$64,351	28%
38	GeorgiaState	1.01	$60,320	$64,582	28%
39	IllinoisState	1.01	$62,480	$64,148	25%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$62,700	$64,773	31%
41	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$75,450	$64,764	36%
42	IndianaState	1.00	$57,820	$63,890	22%
43	OregonState	1.00	$65,430	$63,524	29%
44	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$60,380	$63,027	30%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$61,360	$63,128	31%
46	LouisianaState	0.98	$56,480	$62,686	22%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$64,530	$62,348	30%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$58,110	$62,822	24%
49	DelawareState	0.97	$62,400	$61,782	26%
50	IdahoState	0.97	$59,730	$61,896	24%
51	MaineState	0.97	$61,740	$61,864	25%
52	NevadaState	0.97	$61,740	$61,617	28%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$61,210	$62,142	34%
54	New HampshireState	0.96	$65,040	$61,358	29%
55	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$65,790	$61,030	33%
56	VermontState	0.95	$62,450	$60,927	27%
57	MississippiState	0.94	$50,670	$59,752	21%
58	FloridaState	0.93	$59,990	$59,103	34%
59	MontanaState	0.93	$57,270	$59,409	24%
60	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$63,420	$58,452	39%
61	ArkansasState	0.91	$50,120	$58,076	21%
62	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$61,600	$58,223	33%
63	MarylandState	0.89	$62,060	$56,832	32%
64	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$52,520	$56,595	29%
65	VirginiaState	0.88	$57,820	$55,865	33%
66	ConnecticutState	0.87	$59,420	$55,223	32%
67	KansasState	0.85	$48,790	$54,211	25%
68	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.84	$60,290	$53,449	40%
69	District of ColumbiaState	0.81	$59,220	$51,811	43%
70	UtahState	0.79	$50,740	$50,639	35%
71	HawaiiState	0.74	$51,990	$47,264	55%

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