Best Cities for Community Health Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where community health workerss 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	1.34	$64,810	$69,316	24%
2	North DakotaState	1.24	$59,610	$64,374	20%
3	New HampshireState	1.21	$66,680	$62,906	29%
4	New MexicoState	1.15	$54,830	$59,598	23%
5	WyomingState	1.12	$54,020	$58,086	22%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.12	$69,630	$57,928	54%
7	NevadaState	1.11	$57,730	$57,615	30%
8	NebraskaState	1.09	$51,780	$56,590	24%
9	ColoradoState	1.08	$59,260	$56,224	37%
10	OhioState	1.08	$50,650	$56,029	25%
11	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$51,470	$55,946	30%
12	DelawareState	1.07	$55,850	$55,297	29%
13	UtahState	1.07	$55,700	$55,589	32%
14	WisconsinState	1.07	$51,210	$55,482	25%
15	MissouriState	1.06	$48,770	$55,045	25%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$62,510	$54,689	40%
17	GeorgiaState	1.05	$50,680	$54,261	34%
18	KentuckyState	1.05	$48,230	$54,497	24%
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$49,570	$54,353	29%
20	IdahoState	1.04	$52,050	$53,938	28%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$49,940	$53,989	28%
22	IowaState	1.03	$47,780	$53,565	24%
23	MichiganState	1.03	$49,380	$53,499	27%
24	WashingtonState	1.03	$57,070	$53,187	40%
25	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$49,650	$53,502	31%
26	HawaiiState	1.02	$58,450	$53,136	49%
27	IndianaState	1.02	$47,960	$52,994	26%
28	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$53,100	$52,836	34%
29	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$50,990	$52,676	38%
30	CaliforniaState	1.01	$58,050	$52,439	47%
31	KansasState	1.01	$47,300	$52,556	26%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$50,710	$52,278	31%
33	South CarolinaState	1.01	$47,970	$52,141	31%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$51,010	$52,479	37%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.01	$58,790	$52,119	41%
36	ArkansasState	1.00	$44,890	$52,016	23%
37	MontanaState	1.00	$49,780	$51,639	27%
38	New YorkState	1.00	$58,130	$51,671	38%
39	OklahomaState	1.00	$45,790	$51,740	25%
40	OregonState	1.00	$53,350	$51,796	36%
41	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$49,920	$52,109	36%
42	LouisianaState	0.99	$46,450	$51,554	27%
43	MassachusettsState	0.99	$55,560	$51,207	49%
44	New JerseyState	0.99	$55,790	$51,278	39%
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.99	$55,550	$51,531	39%
46	IllinoisState	0.98	$49,240	$50,554	32%
47	TexasState	0.98	$48,720	$50,962	34%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$57,980	$50,726	45%
49	North CarolinaState	0.97	$47,560	$50,381	33%
50	South DakotaState	0.97	$45,700	$50,330	25%
51	VermontState	0.97	$51,500	$50,244	33%
52	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$56,920	$50,150	54%
53	AlabamaState	0.96	$43,340	$49,759	27%
54	AlaskaState	0.96	$52,000	$49,856	32%
55	ConnecticutState	0.96	$53,560	$49,777	35%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$50,760	$49,043	38%
57	ArizonaState	0.94	$48,950	$48,513	37%
58	MaineState	0.94	$48,670	$48,768	32%
59	MinnesotaState	0.94	$47,560	$48,531	32%
60	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.94	$48,340	$48,583	37%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$56,030	$48,094	49%
62	VirginiaState	0.91	$48,910	$47,256	39%
63	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.91	$49,720	$46,994	41%
64	MississippiState	0.90	$39,520	$46,604	27%
65	MarylandState	0.89	$50,550	$46,291	40%
66	TennesseeState	0.89	$42,310	$46,240	36%
67	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$44,440	$46,195	42%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$45,370	$46,061	45%
69	West VirginiaState	0.87	$37,950	$45,071	26%
70	FloridaState	0.86	$45,420	$44,749	45%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$46,270	$42,645	53%

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