Best Cities for Epidemiologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where epidemiologistss 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.24	$123,970	$108,460	21%
2	MassachusettsState	1.22	$115,890	$106,811	23%
3	MinnesotaState	1.22	$104,460	$106,592	15%
4	TennesseeState	1.22	$97,310	$106,350	15%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.22	$97,290	$106,678	15%
6	IllinoisState	1.21	$102,720	$105,462	15%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.20	$104,460	$104,985	17%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.17	$115,890	$102,106	26%
9	New JerseyState	1.16	$109,760	$100,882	20%
10	WashingtonState	1.16	$108,240	$100,876	21%
11	CaliforniaState	1.15	$110,760	$100,054	25%
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.15	$112,780	$99,982	21%
13	NevadaState	1.14	$99,880	$99,681	17%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.14	$91,800	$99,243	15%
15	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$112,370	$98,311	22%
16	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.13	$97,250	$98,731	21%
17	WisconsinState	1.10	$88,770	$96,176	15%
18	MarylandState	1.07	$101,830	$93,251	20%
19	MichiganState	1.06	$84,990	$92,080	16%
20	South CarolinaState	1.06	$84,660	$92,022	18%
21	NebraskaState	1.04	$83,240	$90,973	15%
22	OregonState	1.04	$93,620	$90,893	20%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$87,860	$90,577	18%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$105,400	$90,472	26%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$98,110	$91,011	22%
26	IowaState	1.03	$79,880	$89,552	14%
27	North CarolinaState	1.03	$84,770	$89,799	18%
28	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$94,690	$89,499	21%
29	KentuckyState	1.02	$78,810	$89,051	15%
30	KansasState	1.01	$79,620	$88,467	16%
31	New MexicoState	1.00	$79,980	$86,935	16%
32	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$80,980	$86,610	19%
33	AlabamaState	0.98	$74,740	$85,809	15%
34	IndianaState	0.98	$77,250	$85,359	16%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.98	$79,620	$85,797	19%
36	OhioState	0.97	$76,480	$84,602	16%
37	West VirginiaState	0.96	$70,540	$83,777	14%
38	MontanaState	0.95	$79,500	$82,469	17%
39	LouisianaState	0.94	$73,850	$81,964	17%
40	OklahomaState	0.94	$72,590	$82,023	16%
41	VirginiaState	0.94	$84,930	$82,058	22%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$79,450	$81,739	24%
43	TexasState	0.93	$77,170	$80,722	22%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$72,800	$79,130	22%
45	FloridaState	0.90	$79,460	$78,286	26%
46	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$85,170	$78,498	29%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.90	$81,570	$78,812	23%
48	ConnecticutState	0.89	$83,670	$77,760	22%
49	UtahState	0.88	$76,960	$76,806	23%
50	GeorgiaState	0.87	$70,880	$75,889	24%
51	MissouriState	0.87	$66,890	$75,497	19%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.84	$70,880	$73,223	27%
53	New YorkState	0.82	$80,220	$71,307	28%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.82	$68,100	$71,086	26%
55	ColoradoState	0.80	$73,750	$69,972	30%
56	HawaiiState	0.80	$76,780	$69,800	37%
57	IdahoState	0.79	$66,280	$68,684	22%
58	MaineState	0.79	$68,850	$68,988	23%
59	MississippiState	0.77	$56,930	$67,134	19%
60	ArizonaState	0.76	$67,260	$66,660	27%

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