Best Cities for Forensic Science Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where forensic science technicianss 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	IllinoisState	1.78	$124,790	$128,121	13%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.58	$137,280	$114,210	27%
3	CaliforniaState	1.28	$102,100	$92,231	27%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.24	$104,410	$89,622	26%
5	MontanaState	1.18	$82,200	$85,270	16%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.16	$78,170	$83,604	20%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.16	$95,460	$83,517	28%
8	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.13	$78,480	$81,580	24%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$87,460	$81,132	25%
10	NevadaState	1.12	$81,090	$80,928	21%
11	ColoradoState	1.11	$84,010	$79,706	26%
12	ConnecticutState	1.11	$85,910	$79,842	22%
13	MinnesotaState	1.09	$76,960	$78,531	20%
14	OregonState	1.09	$80,950	$78,592	24%
15	WisconsinState	1.09	$72,280	$78,310	18%
16	North DakotaState	1.07	$71,090	$76,771	17%
17	TennesseeState	1.07	$70,500	$77,049	21%
18	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$81,780	$77,297	25%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$76,960	$77,347	23%
20	WashingtonState	1.05	$81,310	$75,778	28%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$85,070	$75,417	28%
22	IowaState	1.04	$67,060	$75,179	17%
23	MarylandState	1.04	$82,140	$75,220	25%
24	West VirginiaState	1.04	$63,330	$75,214	16%
25	OklahomaState	1.03	$65,940	$74,508	18%
26	IdahoState	1.02	$71,160	$73,741	20%
27	IndianaState	1.02	$66,520	$73,503	19%
28	MassachusettsState	1.01	$79,320	$73,106	34%
29	New YorkState	1.01	$81,670	$72,596	27%
30	NebraskaState	1.00	$65,920	$72,044	19%
31	VermontState	1.00	$74,110	$72,302	23%
32	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.00	$77,820	$71,724	31%
33	MaineState	0.99	$70,870	$71,012	22%
34	New MexicoState	0.99	$65,570	$71,272	19%
35	MissouriState	0.98	$62,750	$70,824	20%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$79,320	$69,885	39%
37	KentuckyState	0.96	$61,470	$69,458	19%
38	AlabamaState	0.95	$59,560	$68,381	19%
39	GeorgiaState	0.94	$63,600	$68,094	27%
40	UtahState	0.92	$66,780	$66,647	27%
41	VirginiaState	0.92	$68,900	$66,570	27%
42	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$63,840	$65,950	30%
43	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.92	$65,230	$66,223	32%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.90	$59,950	$65,163	26%
45	FloridaState	0.88	$64,140	$63,192	32%
46	PennsylvaniaState	0.88	$61,580	$63,485	25%
47	ArizonaState	0.87	$63,250	$62,686	28%
48	North CarolinaState	0.87	$59,240	$62,754	26%
49	TexasState	0.87	$59,870	$62,626	28%
50	MississippiState	0.86	$52,850	$62,323	20%
51	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$59,240	$61,837	30%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.83	$61,580	$59,498	31%
53	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.83	$55,380	$59,870	26%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.82	$57,180	$58,827	33%
55	New JerseyState	0.81	$63,220	$58,107	34%
56	South DakotaState	0.79	$51,690	$56,927	22%
57	South CarolinaState	0.78	$51,830	$56,337	29%
58	WyomingState	0.78	$52,100	$56,022	23%
59	ArkansasState	0.72	$44,670	$51,761	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).