Best Cities for Chemistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where chemistss 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	New MexicoState	1.51	$126,960	$138,000	10%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.44	$149,860	$131,111	17%
3	DelawareState	1.41	$129,860	$128,574	13%
4	MarylandState	1.41	$140,670	$128,819	14%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.41	$144,680	$128,262	17%
6	LouisianaState	1.26	$103,890	$115,305	12%
7	MassachusettsState	1.26	$125,000	$115,207	22%
8	AlabamaState	1.23	$97,830	$112,319	12%
9	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.23	$118,880	$112,363	17%
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.23	$127,290	$112,150	24%
11	WyomingState	1.20	$102,000	$109,677	12%
12	MichiganState	1.16	$97,440	$105,569	14%
13	North DakotaState	1.15	$97,330	$105,108	12%
14	TexasState	1.14	$99,640	$104,226	17%
15	AlaskaState	1.11	$106,010	$101,640	15%
16	MinnesotaState	1.11	$99,280	$101,306	15%
17	OregonState	1.11	$104,590	$101,544	18%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$101,660	$101,154	18%
19	West VirginiaState	1.11	$85,560	$101,615	12%
20	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.11	$97,930	$101,167	20%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$94,170	$100,717	17%
22	GeorgiaState	1.09	$92,750	$99,304	18%
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.09	$99,280	$99,779	18%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$91,040	$98,957	17%
25	ColoradoState	1.06	$101,980	$96,755	22%
26	IowaState	1.06	$86,100	$96,525	13%
27	TennesseeState	1.05	$87,930	$96,098	17%
28	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.05	$114,890	$95,582	33%
29	KentuckyState	1.04	$84,090	$95,017	14%
30	MississippiState	1.03	$80,060	$94,410	13%
31	New HampshireState	1.03	$100,050	$94,387	19%
32	OhioState	1.03	$85,270	$94,325	15%
33	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.03	$85,770	$94,046	17%
34	MissouriState	1.02	$82,800	$93,454	15%
35	VirginiaState	1.02	$96,650	$93,382	20%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$88,890	$92,787	20%
37	KansasState	1.01	$82,820	$92,022	15%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$95,440	$92,213	20%
39	ConnecticutState	1.00	$98,140	$91,208	19%
40	WashingtonState	1.00	$97,420	$90,792	23%
41	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$83,420	$89,892	18%
42	CaliforniaState	0.97	$97,860	$88,401	28%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$94,990	$88,117	23%
44	ArkansasState	0.96	$75,570	$87,567	14%
45	IllinoisState	0.96	$85,230	$87,505	18%
46	North CarolinaState	0.96	$82,620	$87,521	19%
47	IndianaState	0.95	$78,770	$87,039	16%
48	South CarolinaState	0.95	$79,670	$86,598	19%
49	OklahomaState	0.93	$74,960	$84,701	15%
50	WisconsinState	0.93	$78,730	$85,298	17%
51	VermontState	0.92	$86,120	$84,020	20%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$81,270	$83,611	23%
53	NebraskaState	0.90	$74,890	$81,847	17%
54	ArizonaState	0.89	$81,730	$81,001	22%
55	FloridaState	0.89	$82,740	$81,517	25%
56	IdahoState	0.89	$78,000	$80,829	18%
57	NevadaState	0.89	$81,170	$81,008	21%
58	New YorkState	0.88	$90,600	$80,533	24%
59	UtahState	0.88	$80,770	$80,609	22%
60	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.88	$74,200	$80,216	19%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.87	$77,090	$79,474	20%
62	New JerseyState	0.85	$84,450	$77,619	26%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$76,830	$78,000	27%
64	HawaiiState	0.84	$84,150	$76,500	34%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$83,180	$76,664	29%
66	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.84	$87,990	$76,982	30%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.82	$87,060	$74,730	31%
68	South DakotaState	0.81	$67,440	$74,273	17%
69	MaineState	0.71	$64,440	$64,569	24%
70	MontanaState	0.70	$61,890	$64,201	22%
71	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.55	$48,530	$50,447	38%

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