Best Cities for English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where english language and literature 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	1.50	$130,490	$117,877	21%
2	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.45	$104,070	$114,112	14%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.40	$128,810	$110,567	21%
4	MichiganState	1.24	$90,240	$97,768	15%
5	DelawareState	1.22	$97,100	$96,139	17%
6	New HampshireState	1.18	$98,650	$93,066	19%
7	ConnecticutState	1.15	$97,310	$90,437	19%
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.14	$107,770	$89,659	35%
9	IowaState	1.13	$79,720	$89,372	14%
10	OregonState	1.13	$91,870	$89,194	21%
11	WisconsinState	1.11	$80,800	$87,541	16%
12	MinnesotaState	1.09	$84,200	$85,918	18%
13	NebraskaState	1.09	$78,450	$85,738	16%
14	NevadaState	1.09	$85,830	$85,659	20%
15	VermontState	1.08	$86,870	$84,751	20%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$79,250	$85,399	19%
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$84,250	$84,673	21%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$91,870	$85,223	23%
19	MaineState	1.07	$84,290	$84,459	18%
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$81,570	$83,920	23%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$80,670	$83,165	19%
22	MissouriState	1.05	$73,070	$82,472	17%
23	TexasState	1.05	$78,900	$82,531	21%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$76,080	$82,249	19%
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$83,500	$80,676	23%
26	AlaskaState	1.01	$82,770	$79,358	20%
27	IllinoisState	1.01	$77,570	$79,641	20%
28	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$79,190	$78,796	23%
29	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$83,640	$79,055	24%
30	MassachusettsState	0.98	$83,980	$77,401	32%
31	ArizonaState	0.97	$76,990	$76,303	23%
32	IndianaState	0.97	$69,180	$76,442	18%
33	MarylandState	0.97	$83,760	$76,703	24%
34	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$73,660	$76,095	26%
35	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$87,020	$76,670	35%
36	MontanaState	0.96	$73,160	$75,892	19%
37	New YorkState	0.96	$84,850	$75,422	26%
38	West VirginiaState	0.95	$63,280	$75,154	16%
39	WashingtonState	0.94	$79,840	$74,408	29%
40	KentuckyState	0.93	$65,090	$73,548	18%
41	UtahState	0.93	$73,280	$73,134	24%
42	AlabamaState	0.92	$62,910	$72,227	18%
43	New JerseyState	0.92	$78,760	$72,390	27%
44	New MexicoState	0.92	$66,450	$72,228	19%
45	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$82,080	$72,766	29%
46	District of ColumbiaState	0.91	$82,300	$72,003	31%
47	MississippiState	0.91	$60,680	$71,557	18%
48	OhioState	0.91	$65,140	$72,058	19%
49	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$80,770	$70,665	33%
50	GeorgiaState	0.89	$65,530	$70,161	26%
51	South CarolinaState	0.89	$64,470	$70,076	23%
52	TennesseeState	0.89	$64,220	$70,186	23%
53	ColoradoState	0.88	$72,910	$69,175	30%
54	KansasState	0.88	$62,340	$69,267	20%
55	South DakotaState	0.88	$62,960	$69,339	18%
56	North DakotaState	0.87	$63,690	$68,780	18%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$66,170	$68,784	28%
58	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$63,590	$68,011	24%
59	LouisianaState	0.85	$60,350	$66,981	21%
60	North CarolinaState	0.85	$63,370	$67,129	25%
61	WyomingState	0.85	$62,030	$66,699	19%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.85	$61,940	$67,326	25%
63	ArkansasState	0.83	$56,520	$65,492	19%
64	VirginiaState	0.83	$67,330	$65,053	28%
65	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.81	$60,820	$63,486	30%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$59,740	$60,650	35%
67	OklahomaState	0.76	$53,200	$60,113	22%
68	FloridaState	0.75	$59,740	$58,857	35%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.73	$62,020	$57,161	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).