Best Cities for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where foreign 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	DelawareState	1.26	$101,100	$100,099	16%
2	MaineState	1.22	$96,970	$97,164	16%
3	New HampshireState	1.21	$101,750	$95,991	19%
4	MassachusettsState	1.15	$98,750	$91,014	27%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.15	$83,190	$91,217	18%
6	CaliforniaState	1.14	$99,860	$90,208	27%
7	MichiganState	1.14	$83,190	$90,130	16%
8	West VirginiaState	1.14	$76,340	$90,665	13%
9	IowaState	1.13	$79,880	$89,552	14%
10	South DakotaState	1.13	$81,080	$89,295	14%
11	OregonState	1.12	$91,670	$89,000	21%
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$99,100	$87,313	31%
13	MissouriState	1.08	$76,110	$85,903	16%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$79,980	$85,540	19%
15	NevadaState	1.07	$84,980	$84,810	21%
16	New YorkState	1.07	$95,120	$84,551	23%
17	South CarolinaState	1.07	$77,790	$84,554	19%
18	WisconsinState	1.07	$78,490	$85,038	17%
19	IllinoisState	1.05	$81,530	$83,706	19%
20	LouisianaState	1.05	$75,410	$83,696	17%
21	MontanaState	1.05	$79,970	$82,956	17%
22	TennesseeState	1.05	$76,350	$83,443	20%
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.05	$90,160	$83,636	24%
24	IndianaState	1.04	$74,590	$82,420	17%
25	MinnesotaState	1.04	$80,650	$82,296	19%
26	OhioState	1.04	$74,310	$82,201	17%
27	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$79,670	$82,304	24%
28	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$75,710	$81,849	19%
29	AlabamaState	1.02	$70,580	$81,033	16%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$78,480	$80,741	24%
31	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$80,290	$80,693	22%
32	MarylandState	1.01	$87,280	$79,927	23%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$82,890	$80,087	23%
34	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$73,480	$79,870	21%
35	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$96,550	$80,324	39%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$77,210	$79,598	20%
37	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$76,350	$79,366	24%
38	GeorgiaState	0.99	$73,370	$78,555	23%
39	TexasState	0.99	$75,090	$78,546	22%
40	UtahState	0.99	$78,570	$78,413	23%
41	New MexicoState	0.98	$71,720	$77,957	18%
42	FloridaState	0.95	$76,230	$75,103	27%
43	ConnecticutState	0.94	$80,630	$74,935	23%
44	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$78,520	$74,216	26%
45	ColoradoState	0.93	$77,840	$73,852	28%
46	KentuckyState	0.93	$65,630	$74,158	18%
47	AlaskaState	0.92	$76,490	$73,337	21%
48	ArkansasState	0.92	$62,900	$72,885	17%
49	KansasState	0.92	$65,890	$73,211	19%
50	New JerseyState	0.92	$79,060	$72,665	27%
51	WashingtonState	0.92	$78,320	$72,992	29%
52	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$66,890	$72,080	23%
53	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$78,170	$72,046	31%
54	VirginiaState	0.90	$74,000	$71,498	26%
55	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$83,310	$71,511	33%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$70,610	$71,685	29%
57	ArizonaState	0.89	$71,230	$70,595	25%
58	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$79,510	$70,488	30%
59	North DakotaState	0.88	$64,540	$69,698	18%
60	OklahomaState	0.88	$61,580	$69,582	19%
61	District of ColumbiaState	0.87	$78,930	$69,055	32%
62	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.87	$79,200	$69,291	33%
63	North CarolinaState	0.85	$63,900	$67,691	24%
64	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$62,870	$65,626	29%
65	MississippiState	0.81	$54,670	$64,469	20%

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