Best Cities for Education Administrators, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where education administrators, postsecondarys 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	South DakotaState	1.33	$126,160	$138,943	9%
2	WyomingState	1.32	$127,960	$137,591	9%
3	WisconsinState	1.29	$124,960	$135,385	10%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.27	$128,620	$132,872	15%
5	KentuckyState	1.23	$114,310	$129,164	10%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$154,140	$128,236	24%
7	DelawareState	1.22	$128,570	$127,297	13%
8	New YorkState	1.19	$139,640	$124,124	16%
9	KansasState	1.17	$110,020	$122,244	11%
10	New JerseyState	1.16	$131,570	$120,928	16%
11	MassachusettsState	1.14	$128,970	$118,866	21%
12	New MexicoState	1.14	$109,480	$119,000	11%
13	OklahomaState	1.14	$105,830	$119,582	11%
14	WashingtonState	1.14	$127,630	$118,947	18%
15	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.14	$110,740	$119,332	14%
16	GeorgiaState	1.13	$110,200	$117,987	15%
17	MissouriState	1.13	$104,560	$118,014	12%
18	MichiganState	1.12	$108,500	$117,551	12%
19	VirginiaState	1.12	$120,840	$116,754	16%
20	OregonState	1.11	$120,110	$116,612	16%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$105,980	$116,206	14%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$133,000	$116,360	20%
23	AlabamaState	1.10	$100,030	$114,845	11%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$131,130	$115,533	23%
25	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.10	$105,890	$115,098	15%
26	ConnecticutState	1.09	$123,190	$114,489	15%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$117,980	$113,990	16%
28	CaliforniaState	1.08	$125,460	$113,333	22%
29	ColoradoState	1.07	$118,440	$112,372	19%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$120,110	$111,419	18%
31	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$125,460	$111,223	19%
32	LouisianaState	1.05	$98,840	$109,700	13%
33	North DakotaState	1.05	$101,600	$109,719	12%
34	TennesseeState	1.05	$100,850	$110,219	15%
35	IndianaState	1.04	$98,000	$108,287	13%
36	MarylandState	1.04	$118,550	$108,562	17%
37	TexasState	1.04	$104,390	$109,195	16%
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$108,060	$108,603	16%
39	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$100,600	$107,594	15%
40	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$125,230	$107,494	22%
41	MinnesotaState	1.02	$104,740	$106,878	15%
42	MontanaState	1.02	$102,980	$106,826	13%
43	North CarolinaState	1.02	$101,060	$107,055	15%
44	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$103,740	$106,948	15%
45	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$98,320	$106,292	14%
46	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$106,520	$105,990	17%
47	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$102,990	$105,957	18%
48	IdahoState	1.00	$101,200	$104,870	14%
49	NebraskaState	1.00	$96,030	$104,951	13%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$110,940	$104,858	18%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$100,850	$104,834	19%
52	South CarolinaState	0.99	$95,570	$103,880	16%
53	ArizonaState	0.98	$103,280	$102,359	17%
54	IllinoisState	0.98	$99,770	$102,433	16%
55	MississippiState	0.98	$86,590	$102,111	12%
56	VermontState	0.97	$104,450	$101,902	16%
57	IowaState	0.96	$89,320	$100,135	13%
58	UtahState	0.96	$100,420	$100,220	18%
59	West VirginiaState	0.96	$84,660	$100,546	12%
60	AlaskaState	0.94	$103,080	$98,830	16%
61	New HampshireState	0.94	$104,190	$98,292	18%
62	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.94	$93,720	$97,829	19%
63	OhioState	0.92	$87,370	$96,648	14%
64	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$107,390	$93,955	23%
65	ArkansasState	0.87	$78,240	$90,660	13%
66	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$98,840	$91,097	25%
67	NevadaState	0.85	$88,810	$88,633	20%
68	MaineState	0.84	$88,180	$88,357	18%
69	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$86,410	$87,726	24%
70	FloridaState	0.79	$83,840	$82,601	25%
71	HawaiiState	0.70	$81,020	$73,655	35%

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