Best Cities for Engineering Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where engineering 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	GeorgiaState	1.29	$131,260	$140,535	13%
2	LouisianaState	1.28	$125,930	$139,767	10%
3	IllinoisState	1.27	$135,430	$139,045	12%
4	MichiganState	1.26	$127,230	$137,844	11%
5	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.25	$132,210	$136,581	15%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.21	$131,160	$131,819	14%
7	DelawareState	1.18	$130,730	$129,436	12%
8	TexasState	1.18	$123,280	$128,954	13%
9	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.18	$125,140	$128,745	15%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$154,760	$128,752	24%
11	KansasState	1.17	$115,160	$127,956	11%
12	KentuckyState	1.15	$110,810	$125,209	10%
13	MassachusettsState	1.14	$134,850	$124,286	20%
14	CaliforniaState	1.13	$137,280	$124,011	20%
15	WisconsinState	1.12	$112,830	$122,243	12%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$112,100	$122,917	13%
17	ArkansasState	1.11	$104,210	$120,753	10%
18	New HampshireState	1.10	$127,070	$119,877	15%
19	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.10	$130,990	$120,728	19%
20	AlabamaState	1.09	$103,580	$118,921	11%
21	West VirginiaState	1.09	$100,400	$119,240	10%
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$135,480	$119,366	23%
23	MississippiState	1.08	$100,440	$118,443	11%
24	North DakotaState	1.08	$109,710	$118,477	11%
25	VirginiaState	1.08	$121,880	$117,758	16%
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$137,760	$118,249	20%
27	IndianaState	1.07	$106,010	$117,138	12%
28	ConnecticutState	1.06	$124,350	$115,567	15%
29	IdahoState	1.06	$112,240	$116,311	13%
30	IowaState	1.06	$103,360	$115,874	11%
31	New MexicoState	1.05	$105,410	$114,576	12%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$105,690	$114,880	15%
33	OhioState	1.04	$102,410	$113,285	12%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$129,910	$113,657	20%
35	OklahomaState	1.03	$99,790	$112,757	12%
36	South CarolinaState	1.03	$103,420	$112,413	15%
37	WashingtonState	1.02	$119,960	$111,799	19%
38	WyomingState	1.02	$103,380	$111,161	11%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$106,880	$111,566	17%
40	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$104,610	$111,882	15%
41	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$126,210	$111,888	19%
42	MinnesotaState	1.01	$108,390	$110,602	14%
43	TennesseeState	1.01	$100,640	$109,989	15%
44	NevadaState	0.99	$107,890	$107,675	16%
45	ArizonaState	0.98	$108,540	$107,572	17%
46	MarylandState	0.98	$117,200	$107,326	17%
47	South DakotaState	0.98	$97,700	$107,599	12%
48	AlaskaState	0.96	$109,600	$105,081	15%
49	MontanaState	0.96	$101,170	$104,948	13%
50	NebraskaState	0.96	$95,860	$104,765	13%
51	UtahState	0.96	$105,180	$104,970	17%
52	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$97,040	$104,569	16%
53	OregonState	0.95	$106,840	$103,728	18%
54	Rhode IslandState	0.94	$102,690	$102,179	18%
55	VermontState	0.93	$104,110	$101,571	16%
56	New JerseyState	0.92	$109,910	$101,020	20%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$106,690	$100,841	19%
58	ColoradoState	0.90	$104,070	$98,738	21%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$106,190	$98,506	20%
60	FloridaState	0.88	$97,340	$95,901	21%
61	New YorkState	0.86	$106,240	$94,436	21%
62	District of ColumbiaState	0.82	$101,970	$89,213	25%
63	MaineState	0.81	$88,750	$88,928	18%
64	PennsylvaniaState	0.77	$82,070	$84,608	19%
65	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.77	$77,870	$84,184	18%
66	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.70	$79,210	$76,531	24%

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