Best Cities for Counselors, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where counselors, all others 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	UtahState	1.84	$93,530	$93,343	19%
2	GeorgiaState	1.67	$79,490	$85,107	21%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.61	$93,720	$81,995	27%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.61	$79,490	$82,118	24%
5	WisconsinState	1.52	$71,390	$77,346	18%
6	OregonState	1.50	$78,750	$76,456	24%
7	North DakotaState	1.48	$69,860	$75,443	17%
8	VirginiaState	1.45	$76,450	$73,865	25%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.44	$78,740	$73,043	27%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.37	$83,930	$69,825	45%
11	IowaState	1.35	$61,080	$68,475	19%
12	New JerseyState	1.33	$73,360	$67,426	29%
13	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.32	$62,170	$66,994	25%
14	WashingtonState	1.27	$69,530	$64,800	33%
15	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.27	$59,430	$64,598	26%
16	MississippiState	1.25	$54,090	$63,785	20%
17	ColoradoState	1.24	$66,680	$63,264	33%
18	MaineState	1.23	$62,190	$62,315	25%
19	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.23	$71,650	$62,686	37%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.23	$70,610	$62,598	34%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.20	$59,160	$60,990	26%
22	South CarolinaState	1.18	$55,140	$59,935	27%
23	ArizonaState	1.17	$59,910	$59,376	30%
24	HawaiiState	1.17	$65,470	$59,518	44%
25	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.16	$56,350	$58,820	32%
26	ArkansasState	1.12	$49,310	$57,138	21%
27	TennesseeState	1.12	$51,900	$56,721	29%
28	TexasState	1.12	$54,450	$56,956	31%
29	North CarolinaState	1.09	$52,280	$55,381	30%
30	VermontState	1.08	$56,220	$54,849	30%
31	AlabamaState	1.07	$47,580	$54,627	24%
32	MassachusettsState	1.06	$58,240	$53,677	46%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$52,340	$53,848	36%
34	West VirginiaState	1.05	$44,810	$53,219	22%
35	LouisianaState	1.04	$47,830	$53,085	26%
36	New YorkState	1.02	$58,500	$52,000	38%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$58,250	$51,322	53%
38	IllinoisState	1.00	$49,360	$50,678	32%
39	OhioState	1.00	$45,840	$50,708	27%
40	IndianaState	0.99	$45,360	$50,122	28%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$46,930	$50,193	33%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$52,300	$50,531	37%
43	ConnecticutState	0.97	$53,310	$49,545	35%
44	MissouriState	0.97	$43,680	$49,300	28%
45	MinnesotaState	0.96	$47,740	$48,714	32%
46	DelawareState	0.95	$48,990	$48,505	33%
47	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.95	$47,920	$48,161	37%
48	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$45,870	$47,682	41%
49	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$43,100	$46,595	33%
50	FloridaState	0.89	$45,880	$45,202	45%
51	KentuckyState	0.89	$40,230	$45,458	29%
52	NevadaState	0.89	$45,440	$45,349	38%
53	New HampshireState	0.89	$47,770	$45,066	40%
54	CaliforniaState	0.87	$48,850	$44,128	56%
55	NebraskaState	0.87	$40,530	$44,295	31%
56	AlaskaState	0.85	$45,060	$43,202	36%
57	MarylandState	0.84	$46,840	$42,894	43%
58	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.84	$45,210	$42,732	45%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$45,880	$42,286	53%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.83	$41,560	$42,193	50%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.82	$48,830	$41,914	56%
62	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.81	$37,390	$40,998	39%
63	MichiganState	0.80	$37,390	$40,509	36%
64	MontanaState	0.80	$39,260	$40,726	34%

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