Best Cities for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemistry 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	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.43	$132,590	$133,256	13%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.30	$141,370	$121,348	19%
3	CaliforniaState	1.29	$132,960	$120,108	20%
4	North DakotaState	1.29	$111,020	$119,892	11%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$103,070	$113,015	14%
6	MichiganState	1.17	$101,030	$109,458	13%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.17	$131,080	$109,052	29%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.16	$123,250	$108,590	25%
9	MinnesotaState	1.14	$104,380	$106,510	15%
10	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.14	$102,620	$106,012	19%
11	KansasState	1.12	$93,830	$104,256	13%
12	DelawareState	1.11	$104,610	$103,574	16%
13	ArizonaState	1.10	$103,790	$102,864	17%
14	NevadaState	1.09	$101,640	$101,437	17%
15	UtahState	1.09	$102,110	$101,906	18%
16	IllinoisState	1.08	$97,860	$100,472	16%
17	Rhode IslandState	1.08	$100,920	$100,418	18%
18	MassachusettsState	1.07	$108,270	$99,788	25%
19	OregonState	1.06	$101,350	$98,398	19%
20	PennsylvaniaState	1.05	$95,070	$98,010	16%
21	West VirginiaState	1.04	$81,830	$97,185	12%
22	New HampshireState	1.03	$102,220	$96,434	19%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$99,230	$95,874	19%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$101,270	$93,942	21%
25	KentuckyState	1.00	$82,550	$93,277	14%
26	LouisianaState	1.00	$83,680	$92,875	15%
27	MarylandState	1.00	$101,530	$92,976	20%
28	MissouriState	1.00	$83,000	$93,679	15%
29	NebraskaState	1.00	$85,050	$92,951	15%
30	IowaState	0.99	$82,050	$91,984	14%
31	New MexicoState	0.99	$85,240	$92,652	15%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$97,950	$92,580	21%
33	ColoradoState	0.98	$96,600	$91,651	23%
34	GeorgiaState	0.98	$85,300	$91,328	20%
35	District of ColumbiaState	0.97	$103,370	$90,437	24%
36	IndianaState	0.97	$81,530	$90,088	16%
37	WisconsinState	0.97	$83,480	$90,444	16%
38	WyomingState	0.96	$82,830	$89,065	14%
39	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$83,150	$89,892	17%
40	New YorkState	0.95	$99,880	$88,782	22%
41	South CarolinaState	0.95	$81,200	$88,261	19%
42	AlabamaState	0.94	$76,430	$87,750	15%
43	MontanaState	0.94	$84,680	$87,842	16%
44	TennesseeState	0.93	$79,150	$86,503	19%
45	Columbus, OHMetro	0.93	$81,190	$86,834	19%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$98,170	$87,030	24%
47	MaineState	0.92	$85,250	$85,421	18%
48	OhioState	0.92	$77,910	$86,184	16%
49	TexasState	0.92	$81,810	$85,575	20%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.91	$82,490	$84,866	23%
51	South DakotaState	0.90	$75,810	$83,491	15%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.90	$77,400	$84,130	20%
53	North CarolinaState	0.89	$78,620	$83,284	20%
54	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.87	$74,940	$80,754	21%
55	WashingtonState	0.86	$85,970	$80,121	26%
56	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$76,690	$80,052	23%
57	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$77,800	$78,985	27%
58	MississippiState	0.84	$66,420	$78,325	16%
59	VirginiaState	0.83	$80,330	$77,614	24%
60	FloridaState	0.82	$77,630	$76,483	27%
61	VermontState	0.82	$78,560	$76,644	22%
62	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.82	$87,660	$76,693	30%
63	ArkansasState	0.80	$64,720	$74,994	16%
64	New JerseyState	0.80	$81,600	$75,000	26%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$81,010	$74,664	30%
66	ConnecticutState	0.79	$78,820	$73,253	24%
67	OklahomaState	0.78	$64,450	$72,825	18%

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