Best Cities for Dentists, Generals

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where dentists, generals 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	North DakotaState	1.39	$220,660	$238,294	5%
2	TennesseeState	1.38	$215,290	$235,290	7%
3	MissouriState	1.35	$204,960	$231,332	6%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.35	$222,690	$230,052	9%
5	MinnesotaState	1.31	$219,200	$223,673	7%
6	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.31	$215,290	$223,794	9%
7	AlaskaState	1.30	$230,990	$221,467	7%
8	GeorgiaState	1.29	$206,760	$221,370	8%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.29	$219,980	$221,085	8%
10	North CarolinaState	1.28	$207,000	$219,280	8%
11	MaineState	1.23	$209,200	$209,619	7%
12	WisconsinState	1.23	$193,690	$209,848	7%
13	ArkansasState	1.21	$178,930	$207,335	6%
14	OregonState	1.20	$211,690	$205,524	9%
15	IowaState	1.19	$181,520	$203,498	6%
16	West VirginiaState	1.18	$170,370	$202,340	6%
17	VermontState	1.17	$204,960	$199,961	8%
18	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.16	$189,220	$197,516	10%
19	NebraskaState	1.15	$179,750	$196,448	7%
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.14	$209,440	$194,286	10%
21	ArizonaState	1.13	$194,180	$192,448	9%
22	LouisianaState	1.11	$170,750	$189,512	7%
23	VirginiaState	1.11	$197,110	$190,444	10%
24	OklahomaState	1.10	$166,170	$187,763	7%
25	IndianaState	1.08	$166,650	$184,144	8%
26	MichiganState	1.08	$169,930	$184,106	8%
27	OhioState	1.08	$167,410	$185,188	7%
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.08	$179,990	$185,175	11%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$167,860	$184,057	9%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$171,690	$185,011	9%
31	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$166,180	$177,733	9%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$162,140	$176,239	10%
33	South DakotaState	1.02	$158,140	$174,163	7%
34	FloridaState	1.01	$174,900	$172,315	12%
35	MontanaState	1.01	$167,200	$173,444	8%
36	South CarolinaState	1.01	$158,640	$172,435	9%
37	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$207,910	$172,970	18%
38	MississippiState	0.99	$143,660	$169,410	7%
39	New MexicoState	0.99	$155,260	$168,761	8%
40	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$163,390	$168,443	10%
41	TexasState	0.99	$162,360	$169,833	10%
42	MassachusettsState	0.98	$181,600	$167,373	15%
43	New HampshireState	0.98	$177,480	$167,434	11%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$155,250	$167,838	9%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$184,540	$163,599	13%
46	NevadaState	0.95	$162,200	$161,876	11%
47	New YorkState	0.95	$183,060	$162,720	12%
48	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$172,110	$162,675	12%
49	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$159,270	$161,695	13%
50	IllinoisState	0.94	$156,110	$160,277	10%
51	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$161,560	$160,756	11%
52	WashingtonState	0.93	$169,730	$158,183	13%
53	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$181,150	$159,604	17%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$172,210	$158,719	14%
55	ColoradoState	0.92	$166,240	$157,723	13%
56	New JerseyState	0.92	$171,330	$157,472	13%
57	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$163,390	$157,865	12%
58	MarylandState	0.90	$168,500	$154,304	12%
59	HawaiiState	0.89	$167,820	$152,564	17%
60	KentuckyState	0.89	$134,160	$151,593	9%
61	CaliforniaState	0.88	$165,950	$149,910	16%
62	ConnecticutState	0.87	$160,440	$149,108	12%
63	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.83	$161,270	$141,094	16%
64	UtahState	0.78	$133,320	$133,054	13%
65	WyomingState	0.78	$123,830	$133,151	10%
66	IdahoState	0.75	$124,190	$128,694	12%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.70	$139,990	$120,163	19%

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