Best Cities for Clinical and Counseling Psychologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where clinical and counseling psychologistss 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	1.35	$124,800	$135,652	10%
2	OregonState	1.30	$134,350	$130,437	14%
3	North DakotaState	1.25	$116,130	$125,410	10%
4	WisconsinState	1.22	$113,360	$122,817	11%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.22	$117,170	$122,307	15%
6	AlaskaState	1.18	$124,270	$119,147	13%
7	ArizonaState	1.17	$119,010	$117,948	15%
8	New JerseyState	1.16	$127,090	$116,811	17%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$122,130	$113,293	18%
10	MissouriState	1.12	$99,410	$112,201	12%
11	DelawareState	1.11	$113,050	$111,931	14%
12	KentuckyState	1.11	$99,140	$112,023	12%
13	OhioState	1.11	$101,190	$111,936	12%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$104,370	$111,626	15%
15	MinnesotaState	1.09	$107,030	$109,214	14%
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$106,480	$109,547	18%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$108,480	$109,025	16%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$112,690	$108,879	17%
19	ColoradoState	1.07	$113,290	$107,486	20%
20	HawaiiState	1.07	$117,860	$107,145	24%
21	WashingtonState	1.07	$115,240	$107,400	20%
22	MassachusettsState	1.06	$115,180	$106,157	23%
23	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$107,490	$106,955	17%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.06	$121,270	$106,846	25%
25	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$98,110	$105,722	16%
26	AlabamaState	1.04	$90,800	$104,248	13%
27	CaliforniaState	1.04	$116,000	$104,788	23%
28	NebraskaState	1.03	$94,540	$103,322	13%
29	GeorgiaState	1.02	$96,060	$102,848	18%
30	IowaState	1.02	$91,690	$102,791	12%
31	NevadaState	1.02	$102,650	$102,445	17%
32	IdahoState	1.01	$97,790	$101,337	15%
33	New YorkState	1.01	$114,400	$101,689	19%
34	South CarolinaState	1.00	$92,700	$100,761	16%
35	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$97,090	$100,300	20%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$91,610	$100,450	16%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$92,510	$100,011	15%
38	UtahState	0.98	$99,170	$98,972	18%
39	North CarolinaState	0.97	$92,130	$97,595	17%
40	WyomingState	0.96	$89,890	$96,656	13%
41	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$91,870	$94,711	17%
42	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$107,000	$93,613	24%
43	IndianaState	0.93	$84,990	$93,912	15%
44	MichiganState	0.91	$84,730	$91,798	16%
45	West VirginiaState	0.91	$77,040	$91,496	13%
46	OklahomaState	0.90	$79,950	$90,339	15%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$101,670	$90,133	24%
48	ArkansasState	0.89	$77,520	$89,826	14%
49	MississippiState	0.89	$76,000	$89,623	14%
50	South DakotaState	0.88	$80,130	$88,249	14%
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$81,340	$88,413	19%
52	TexasState	0.87	$83,660	$87,510	20%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$85,610	$86,914	24%
54	IllinoisState	0.85	$83,750	$85,986	19%
55	KansasState	0.85	$76,690	$85,211	16%
56	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$99,250	$85,193	27%
57	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.85	$102,710	$85,449	37%
58	FloridaState	0.84	$85,610	$84,345	24%
59	TennesseeState	0.83	$76,820	$83,956	20%
60	VirginiaState	0.83	$86,520	$83,594	22%
61	VermontState	0.81	$83,270	$81,239	21%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$88,870	$81,908	28%
63	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.80	$77,110	$80,156	24%
64	LouisianaState	0.79	$71,330	$79,168	18%
65	MontanaState	0.70	$68,160	$70,705	20%
66	New HampshireState	0.60	$64,270	$60,632	30%

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