Best Cities for Education Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where education teachers, 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	CaliforniaState	1.34	$111,850	$101,039	24%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.34	$121,520	$101,098	31%
3	LouisianaState	1.23	$83,710	$92,908	15%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.21	$83,400	$91,447	18%
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.20	$105,730	$90,755	26%
6	ArkansasState	1.15	$74,500	$86,327	14%
7	MichiganState	1.15	$79,910	$86,576	17%
8	NebraskaState	1.15	$78,950	$86,284	16%
9	North DakotaState	1.11	$77,540	$83,737	15%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$75,770	$81,914	19%
11	WisconsinState	1.08	$74,790	$81,029	17%
12	MinnesotaState	1.07	$78,950	$80,561	19%
13	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$80,030	$79,632	23%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$79,220	$79,618	22%
15	TennesseeState	1.05	$72,390	$79,115	21%
16	ArizonaState	1.03	$78,520	$77,820	23%
17	MaineState	1.02	$77,050	$77,204	20%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$74,910	$77,227	21%
19	UtahState	1.02	$77,090	$76,936	23%
20	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$74,150	$77,079	25%
21	VermontState	1.01	$78,100	$76,195	22%
22	West VirginiaState	1.00	$63,270	$75,143	16%
23	ConnecticutState	0.99	$80,620	$74,926	23%
24	MissouriState	0.99	$65,910	$74,391	19%
25	VirginiaState	0.99	$77,060	$74,454	25%
26	MassachusettsState	0.98	$79,980	$73,714	34%
27	NevadaState	0.98	$74,240	$74,092	23%
28	North CarolinaState	0.98	$70,050	$74,206	22%
29	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$78,420	$74,121	26%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$76,450	$73,865	25%
31	AlabamaState	0.97	$63,730	$73,169	18%
32	IndianaState	0.97	$66,150	$73,094	19%
33	MississippiState	0.97	$61,860	$72,948	17%
34	MontanaState	0.97	$70,320	$72,946	19%
35	New YorkState	0.97	$82,020	$72,907	27%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$69,750	$72,808	26%
37	MarylandState	0.96	$78,820	$72,179	26%
38	South CarolinaState	0.96	$66,690	$72,489	23%
39	New JerseyState	0.95	$77,600	$71,324	28%
40	OregonState	0.95	$73,880	$71,728	26%
41	TexasState	0.95	$68,280	$71,423	24%
42	WyomingState	0.95	$66,350	$71,344	18%
43	District of ColumbiaState	0.94	$80,810	$70,700	31%
44	New MexicoState	0.94	$64,830	$70,467	19%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$79,980	$70,467	38%
46	KansasState	0.93	$63,010	$70,011	20%
47	South DakotaState	0.93	$63,350	$69,769	18%
48	WashingtonState	0.93	$75,170	$70,056	30%
49	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$79,820	$69,834	33%
50	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.93	$78,820	$69,876	30%
51	IowaState	0.92	$62,090	$69,608	18%
52	KentuckyState	0.92	$61,450	$69,435	19%
53	OhioState	0.92	$62,400	$69,027	20%
54	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$74,910	$69,490	29%
55	OklahomaState	0.91	$60,880	$68,791	19%
56	IdahoState	0.90	$65,720	$68,104	22%
57	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$65,880	$68,058	29%
58	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.90	$63,280	$68,190	24%
59	GeorgiaState	0.89	$62,510	$66,927	27%
60	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$61,390	$65,658	25%
61	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$60,550	$65,815	26%
62	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.85	$61,970	$63,755	31%
63	ColoradoState	0.84	$66,870	$63,444	33%
64	IllinoisState	0.84	$61,560	$63,203	26%
65	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.84	$62,490	$63,442	33%
66	FloridaState	0.83	$63,640	$62,700	32%
67	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$67,230	$61,963	36%
68	New HampshireState	0.62	$49,250	$46,462	39%
69	HawaiiState	0.60	$49,800	$45,273	57%

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