Best Cities for Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where educational instruction and library workers, all others 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.43	$83,130	$72,730	30%
2	South DakotaState	1.36	$63,010	$69,394	18%
3	New HampshireState	1.32	$70,990	$66,972	27%
4	WisconsinState	1.32	$61,940	$67,107	21%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.30	$79,270	$65,948	48%
6	North CarolinaState	1.28	$61,580	$65,233	25%
7	TennesseeState	1.28	$59,610	$65,148	25%
8	New MexicoState	1.26	$58,840	$63,957	21%
9	South CarolinaState	1.26	$59,210	$64,359	25%
10	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.25	$61,320	$63,742	30%
11	North DakotaState	1.21	$56,930	$61,479	21%
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.20	$69,340	$61,093	44%
13	ColoradoState	1.19	$64,090	$60,806	35%
14	LouisianaState	1.17	$53,790	$59,700	23%
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.16	$58,590	$58,884	30%
16	HawaiiState	1.15	$64,450	$58,591	44%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$54,530	$58,761	28%
18	CaliforniaState	1.14	$64,100	$57,904	42%
19	ArizonaState	1.13	$58,220	$57,701	31%
20	KansasState	1.13	$51,690	$57,433	24%
21	MassachusettsState	1.13	$62,630	$57,724	43%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	1.13	$53,790	$57,529	29%
23	DelawareState	1.11	$56,870	$56,307	29%
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.11	$59,830	$56,550	34%
25	MinnesotaState	1.10	$54,640	$55,755	28%
26	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.10	$51,690	$56,185	30%
27	MarylandState	1.08	$59,830	$54,789	34%
28	MississippiState	1.08	$46,450	$54,776	23%
29	OklahomaState	1.07	$48,380	$54,667	24%
30	WashingtonState	1.07	$58,500	$54,520	39%
31	AlaskaState	1.06	$56,470	$54,142	29%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$51,650	$53,914	35%
33	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$49,300	$54,057	30%
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$63,020	$54,094	43%
35	MichiganState	1.05	$49,300	$53,413	27%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$59,970	$53,165	40%
37	MontanaState	1.03	$50,710	$52,604	27%
38	WyomingState	1.03	$48,520	$52,172	24%
39	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.03	$60,100	$52,581	44%
40	MissouriState	1.02	$45,790	$51,682	27%
41	OhioState	1.02	$46,860	$51,836	27%
42	KentuckyState	1.01	$45,350	$51,243	25%
43	VirginiaState	1.00	$52,590	$50,812	36%
44	New JerseyState	0.99	$54,550	$50,138	40%
45	NevadaState	0.98	$49,720	$49,621	35%
46	ConnecticutState	0.95	$51,910	$48,243	36%
47	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$44,490	$48,097	32%
48	IllinoisState	0.94	$46,390	$47,628	34%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$46,380	$47,716	41%
50	OregonState	0.92	$48,160	$46,757	40%
51	FloridaState	0.91	$47,030	$46,335	44%
52	NebraskaState	0.91	$42,270	$46,197	30%
53	New YorkState	0.91	$52,000	$46,222	43%
54	ArkansasState	0.90	$39,380	$45,632	27%
55	MaineState	0.90	$45,680	$45,772	34%
56	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$49,540	$45,955	43%
57	IowaState	0.89	$40,620	$45,538	28%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$44,350	$45,025	47%
59	IdahoState	0.87	$42,520	$44,062	34%
60	West VirginiaState	0.87	$37,230	$44,216	27%
61	AlabamaState	0.85	$37,630	$43,203	31%
62	TexasState	0.84	$40,930	$42,814	41%
63	IndianaState	0.82	$37,600	$41,547	34%
64	PennsylvaniaState	0.79	$38,760	$39,959	40%
65	VermontState	0.78	$40,880	$39,883	42%
66	UtahState	0.75	$38,020	$37,944	47%
67	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.74	$38,900	$37,585	49%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.68	$37,440	$34,507	65%
69	GeorgiaState	0.52	$24,780	$26,531	69%
70	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.51	$25,000	$25,826	78%

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