Best Cities for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where education administrators, kindergarten through secondarys 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	WashingtonState	1.47	$166,590	$155,256	14%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.44	$174,260	$152,458	15%
3	ConnecticutState	1.37	$156,240	$145,204	12%
4	CaliforniaState	1.36	$159,950	$144,490	17%
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.31	$161,590	$138,704	17%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.30	$165,520	$137,704	23%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.25	$143,170	$132,811	15%
8	DelawareState	1.24	$132,710	$131,396	12%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.24	$130,650	$131,307	14%
10	MinnesotaState	1.22	$127,000	$129,592	12%
11	UtahState	1.21	$128,880	$128,623	14%
12	WisconsinState	1.20	$117,010	$126,771	11%
13	New JerseyState	1.19	$137,440	$126,324	16%
14	OregonState	1.19	$130,050	$126,262	15%
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.18	$131,880	$124,650	15%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.18	$129,130	$124,763	15%
17	New YorkState	1.17	$138,830	$123,404	16%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.16	$118,710	$122,381	13%
19	AlaskaState	1.14	$125,520	$120,345	13%
20	District of ColumbiaState	1.14	$137,470	$120,271	18%
21	MarylandState	1.14	$131,510	$120,430	15%
22	NebraskaState	1.14	$110,580	$120,852	11%
23	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$110,160	$120,789	13%
24	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$119,980	$119,383	15%
25	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$134,490	$119,229	18%
26	MassachusettsState	1.12	$128,430	$118,369	21%
27	New MexicoState	1.11	$107,720	$117,087	12%
28	IllinoisState	1.10	$113,360	$116,386	14%
29	IowaState	1.10	$104,260	$116,883	11%
30	North DakotaState	1.10	$107,940	$116,566	11%
31	HawaiiState	1.09	$126,760	$115,236	23%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$131,080	$115,489	23%
33	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$105,700	$114,270	13%
34	KentuckyState	1.07	$99,920	$112,904	12%
35	MissouriState	1.07	$100,400	$113,318	12%
36	WyomingState	1.07	$105,480	$113,419	11%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$105,230	$113,394	15%
38	AlabamaState	1.06	$97,480	$111,917	12%
39	KansasState	1.06	$100,530	$111,700	12%
40	MichiganState	1.06	$104,020	$112,698	13%
41	GeorgiaState	1.05	$103,360	$110,664	16%
42	South CarolinaState	1.05	$102,440	$111,348	15%
43	OhioState	1.04	$99,590	$110,166	13%
44	IndianaState	1.03	$98,770	$109,138	13%
45	NevadaState	1.03	$109,420	$109,202	16%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$105,270	$108,750	18%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$101,000	$108,021	15%
48	TennesseeState	1.01	$97,590	$106,656	15%
49	ColoradoState	0.99	$110,530	$104,867	20%
50	IdahoState	0.99	$101,090	$104,756	14%
51	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$101,450	$104,372	19%
52	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$100,410	$104,376	19%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$101,730	$103,279	20%
54	MaineState	0.97	$102,890	$103,096	15%
55	VermontState	0.97	$105,350	$102,780	16%
56	VirginiaState	0.97	$106,100	$102,512	18%
57	ArkansasState	0.94	$86,330	$100,035	12%
58	MontanaState	0.94	$95,700	$99,274	14%
59	New HampshireState	0.93	$104,910	$98,972	18%
60	TexasState	0.93	$93,910	$98,232	18%
61	MississippiState	0.92	$82,800	$97,642	13%
62	OklahomaState	0.92	$86,630	$97,887	13%
63	South DakotaState	0.92	$88,390	$97,346	13%
64	ArizonaState	0.91	$97,480	$96,611	18%
65	FloridaState	0.90	$96,490	$95,064	21%
66	West VirginiaState	0.90	$80,650	$95,784	12%
67	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$89,170	$93,079	20%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$101,520	$93,567	24%
69	LouisianaState	0.87	$83,360	$92,519	15%
70	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$85,070	$92,467	18%
71	North CarolinaState	0.83	$83,180	$88,114	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).