Best Cities for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisorss 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 MexicoState	1.32	$77,880	$84,652	16%
2	AlaskaState	1.24	$82,900	$79,482	20%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$95,390	$79,359	40%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.22	$76,380	$78,580	25%
5	CaliforniaState	1.21	$86,500	$78,139	31%
6	WashingtonState	1.20	$82,670	$77,046	28%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.19	$87,280	$76,360	30%
8	Rhode IslandState	1.16	$75,000	$74,627	24%
9	MassachusettsState	1.15	$79,930	$73,668	34%
10	DelawareState	1.14	$74,070	$73,337	22%
11	KentuckyState	1.13	$64,350	$72,712	18%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$78,400	$72,727	27%
13	New JerseyState	1.11	$77,910	$71,608	28%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$80,760	$71,154	38%
15	TexasState	1.10	$67,900	$71,025	24%
16	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$74,740	$70,643	27%
17	District of ColumbiaState	1.09	$80,470	$70,402	31%
18	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$67,730	$69,969	29%
19	ArkansasState	1.08	$59,770	$69,258	18%
20	MarylandState	1.08	$75,820	$69,432	27%
21	MississippiState	1.08	$58,710	$69,233	18%
22	ConnecticutState	1.07	$73,910	$68,690	25%
23	LouisianaState	1.07	$61,870	$68,668	20%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$62,840	$68,904	23%
25	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$77,420	$68,635	31%
26	AlabamaState	1.06	$59,570	$68,393	19%
27	GeorgiaState	1.06	$63,720	$68,223	27%
28	NebraskaState	1.06	$62,500	$68,306	20%
29	OhioState	1.06	$61,760	$68,319	20%
30	WisconsinState	1.06	$62,690	$67,920	21%
31	WyomingState	1.06	$63,430	$68,204	19%
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$79,000	$67,811	34%
33	New HampshireState	1.04	$71,080	$67,057	27%
34	NevadaState	1.03	$66,710	$66,577	26%
35	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$62,080	$66,396	25%
36	IndianaState	1.02	$59,260	$65,481	21%
37	MinnesotaState	1.02	$64,600	$65,918	24%
38	MissouriState	1.02	$58,040	$65,508	21%
39	South CarolinaState	1.02	$60,340	$65,587	25%
40	TennesseeState	1.02	$59,960	$65,530	25%
41	VirginiaState	1.02	$67,660	$65,372	28%
42	West VirginiaState	1.02	$55,520	$65,938	18%
43	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$60,820	$65,539	25%
44	OregonState	1.01	$66,690	$64,748	29%
45	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$64,600	$64,925	27%
46	IllinoisState	1.00	$62,420	$64,086	25%
47	MichiganState	1.00	$59,440	$64,399	23%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$59,560	$64,389	24%
49	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.00	$59,090	$64,228	27%
50	IowaState	0.99	$56,540	$63,386	20%
51	New YorkState	0.99	$71,610	$63,653	31%
52	North DakotaState	0.99	$58,960	$63,672	20%
53	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$66,190	$63,952	29%
54	KansasState	0.98	$56,590	$62,878	22%
55	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$60,880	$62,763	26%
56	VermontState	0.98	$64,570	$62,995	26%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$60,550	$62,942	31%
58	IdahoState	0.97	$60,320	$62,508	24%
59	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$59,530	$62,140	30%
60	ColoradoState	0.96	$64,780	$61,461	34%
61	North CarolinaState	0.95	$57,630	$61,049	27%
62	UtahState	0.95	$61,320	$61,198	29%
63	MontanaState	0.93	$57,900	$60,062	23%
64	MaineState	0.91	$58,630	$58,747	27%
65	OklahomaState	0.91	$52,040	$58,802	22%
66	ArizonaState	0.90	$58,250	$57,730	31%
67	South DakotaState	0.89	$51,830	$57,081	22%
68	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$56,060	$56,914	37%
69	HawaiiState	0.87	$61,730	$56,118	46%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$57,110	$52,636	43%
71	FloridaState	0.81	$53,140	$52,355	39%

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