Best Cities for Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Educations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where elementary school teachers, except special educations 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	WashingtonState	1.49	$102,350	$95,387	22%
2	CaliforniaState	1.41	$99,650	$90,018	27%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.41	$90,930	$90,478	20%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.41	$102,920	$90,044	26%
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.37	$101,860	$87,433	27%
6	MassachusettsState	1.35	$94,000	$86,636	29%
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.35	$98,060	$86,396	31%
8	OhioState	1.34	$77,370	$85,586	16%
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.34	$102,860	$85,574	37%
10	District of ColumbiaState	1.32	$96,580	$84,497	26%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.31	$78,150	$83,583	20%
12	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.29	$76,550	$82,757	18%
13	New MexicoState	1.27	$74,550	$81,033	17%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.25	$79,730	$80,131	22%
15	PennsylvaniaState	1.24	$77,060	$79,443	20%
16	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.24	$76,570	$79,101	25%
17	MinnesotaState	1.22	$76,350	$77,908	20%
18	GeorgiaState	1.21	$72,290	$77,398	23%
19	IllinoisState	1.21	$75,320	$77,331	21%
20	AlaskaState	1.19	$79,260	$75,992	21%
21	New YorkState	1.19	$85,760	$76,231	26%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.19	$78,570	$75,913	24%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$82,330	$76,373	26%
24	DelawareState	1.18	$75,920	$75,168	21%
25	ConnecticutState	1.17	$80,600	$74,907	23%
26	OregonState	1.17	$77,130	$74,883	25%
27	UtahState	1.17	$74,810	$74,661	24%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.13	$76,400	$72,212	26%
29	New JerseyState	1.12	$78,200	$71,875	28%
30	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$65,210	$71,502	22%
31	MarylandState	1.11	$77,680	$71,136	26%
32	AlabamaState	1.10	$61,380	$70,471	19%
33	MichiganState	1.10	$65,110	$70,542	21%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.10	$79,470	$70,452	30%
35	KentuckyState	1.07	$60,610	$68,486	19%
36	NebraskaState	1.07	$62,380	$68,175	20%
37	New HampshireState	1.07	$72,410	$68,311	26%
38	IowaState	1.06	$60,580	$67,915	19%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$65,070	$66,944	29%
40	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$61,720	$67,087	25%
41	WisconsinState	1.04	$61,210	$66,316	21%
42	IndianaState	1.03	$59,700	$65,967	21%
43	South CarolinaState	1.03	$60,820	$66,109	25%
44	TexasState	1.03	$62,760	$65,649	26%
45	West VirginiaState	1.03	$55,630	$66,069	18%
46	WyomingState	1.03	$61,150	$65,753	19%
47	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$61,060	$65,797	25%
48	LouisianaState	1.02	$58,770	$65,228	21%
49	TennesseeState	1.02	$59,980	$65,552	25%
50	HawaiiState	1.01	$71,410	$64,918	40%
51	NevadaState	1.01	$65,040	$64,910	27%
52	North DakotaState	1.01	$60,030	$64,827	20%
53	IdahoState	1.00	$61,600	$63,834	23%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$61,460	$63,888	30%
55	VirginiaState	0.99	$65,550	$63,333	29%
56	KansasState	0.98	$56,450	$62,722	22%
57	MaineState	0.98	$62,390	$62,515	25%
58	VermontState	0.96	$63,070	$61,532	27%
59	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$58,680	$61,253	31%
60	ArkansasState	0.95	$52,700	$61,066	20%
61	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$60,120	$61,036	34%
62	ColoradoState	0.94	$63,410	$60,161	35%
63	MontanaState	0.93	$57,530	$59,678	24%
64	MississippiState	0.92	$49,790	$58,715	22%
65	FloridaState	0.91	$58,930	$58,059	35%
66	North CarolinaState	0.91	$54,930	$58,189	28%
67	MissouriState	0.90	$50,910	$57,460	24%
68	ArizonaState	0.88	$56,590	$56,085	32%
69	South DakotaState	0.86	$50,130	$55,209	23%
70	OklahomaState	0.85	$48,200	$54,463	24%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$58,300	$53,733	42%

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