Best Cities for Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycares

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycares 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	New YorkState	1.45	$96,810	$86,053	23%
2	AlaskaState	1.22	$75,540	$72,426	22%
3	New JerseyState	1.22	$78,770	$72,399	27%
4	South DakotaState	1.17	$63,240	$69,648	18%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.15	$77,850	$68,110	32%
6	WashingtonState	1.11	$70,470	$65,676	32%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$64,800	$65,126	27%
8	GeorgiaState	1.09	$60,300	$64,561	28%
9	IndianaState	1.09	$58,740	$64,906	22%
10	MassachusettsState	1.09	$70,320	$64,811	38%
11	WisconsinState	1.09	$59,930	$64,930	22%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.09	$58,840	$64,518	25%
13	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$72,560	$63,930	42%
14	KansasState	1.07	$56,970	$63,300	22%
15	MinnesotaState	1.07	$62,020	$63,286	25%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$58,340	$62,866	26%
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$60,290	$62,283	32%
18	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$59,430	$62,035	30%
19	MichiganState	1.04	$56,870	$61,614	24%
20	NebraskaState	1.04	$56,160	$61,377	22%
21	VermontState	1.04	$63,220	$61,678	27%
22	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$70,470	$61,654	37%
23	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$60,530	$61,452	34%
24	ColoradoState	1.03	$64,620	$61,309	34%
25	UtahState	1.03	$60,980	$60,858	29%
26	CaliforniaState	1.02	$67,100	$60,614	41%
27	MaineState	1.02	$60,090	$60,210	26%
28	North CarolinaState	1.02	$57,200	$60,593	27%
29	WyomingState	1.02	$56,170	$60,398	21%
30	IllinoisState	1.01	$58,550	$60,113	27%
31	NevadaState	1.01	$60,120	$60,000	29%
32	HawaiiState	1.00	$65,080	$59,164	44%
33	MississippiState	0.99	$49,740	$58,656	22%
34	OregonState	0.99	$60,250	$58,495	32%
35	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$56,380	$58,124	28%
36	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$53,400	$58,043	29%
37	DelawareState	0.97	$58,230	$57,653	28%
38	MarylandState	0.97	$62,520	$57,253	32%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$67,140	$57,631	40%
40	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$58,960	$56,966	32%
41	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$61,300	$56,865	35%
42	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$59,490	$56,229	34%
43	ConnecticutState	0.94	$59,760	$55,539	31%
44	FloridaState	0.94	$56,750	$55,911	36%
45	North DakotaState	0.94	$51,390	$55,497	23%
46	South CarolinaState	0.94	$51,200	$55,652	29%
47	Rhode IslandState	0.93	$55,290	$55,015	33%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$61,960	$54,929	39%
49	OhioState	0.92	$49,580	$54,845	25%
50	MissouriState	0.91	$47,940	$54,108	26%
51	TennesseeState	0.91	$49,200	$53,770	31%
52	West VirginiaState	0.91	$45,660	$54,228	22%
53	IowaState	0.90	$47,480	$53,229	24%
54	TexasState	0.90	$50,840	$53,180	33%
55	Columbus, OHMetro	0.90	$49,950	$53,422	31%
56	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.90	$49,170	$53,157	29%
57	OklahomaState	0.89	$46,690	$52,757	25%
58	ArkansasState	0.88	$44,990	$52,132	23%
59	New HampshireState	0.88	$55,120	$52,000	35%
60	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$56,680	$52,240	43%
61	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.88	$62,840	$52,280	60%
62	VirginiaState	0.87	$53,320	$51,517	35%
63	LouisianaState	0.86	$46,030	$51,088	27%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$49,390	$50,813	39%
65	IdahoState	0.85	$48,530	$50,290	30%
66	KentuckyState	0.85	$44,530	$50,316	26%
67	MontanaState	0.84	$48,140	$49,938	28%
68	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.83	$47,450	$49,324	39%
69	AlabamaState	0.81	$41,780	$47,968	28%
70	ArizonaState	0.80	$48,160	$47,730	37%

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