Best Cities for Genetic Counselorss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where genetic counselorss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.38	$165,920	$138,037	23%
2	CaliforniaState	1.24	$137,650	$124,345	20%
3	KentuckyState	1.13	$99,770	$112,734	12%
4	OhioState	1.11	$100,670	$111,361	12%
5	New JerseyState	1.08	$117,750	$108,226	18%
6	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$99,030	$107,059	14%
7	DelawareState	1.05	$106,010	$104,960	15%
8	MinnesotaState	1.04	$102,010	$104,092	15%
9	TexasState	1.04	$99,450	$104,027	17%
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$101,390	$104,311	19%
11	TennesseeState	1.03	$94,380	$103,148	16%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$120,560	$103,485	23%
13	ArizonaState	1.02	$102,730	$101,814	17%
14	South CarolinaState	1.02	$93,600	$101,739	16%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.02	$98,660	$101,921	20%
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$102,010	$102,523	17%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$106,010	$102,425	18%
18	ColoradoState	1.01	$106,100	$100,664	21%
19	FloridaState	1.01	$102,330	$100,818	20%
20	WisconsinState	1.00	$92,170	$99,859	14%
21	IndianaState	0.99	$89,640	$99,050	14%
22	North CarolinaState	0.99	$93,570	$99,121	17%
23	IllinoisState	0.98	$95,880	$98,439	16%
24	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$94,930	$97,866	16%
25	UtahState	0.98	$98,430	$98,234	18%
26	VirginiaState	0.97	$99,960	$96,580	19%
27	WashingtonState	0.96	$102,920	$95,918	22%
28	MissouriState	0.95	$83,980	$94,786	15%
29	New YorkState	0.95	$107,450	$95,511	21%
30	ConnecticutState	0.94	$101,640	$94,461	19%
31	MichiganState	0.92	$84,970	$92,059	16%
32	MassachusettsState	0.90	$97,240	$89,622	28%
33	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.90	$82,230	$90,164	18%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$102,920	$90,044	26%
35	GeorgiaState	0.89	$82,750	$88,597	21%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$100,380	$88,989	24%
37	District of ColumbiaState	0.88	$100,380	$87,822	25%
38	MarylandState	0.86	$94,050	$86,126	21%
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.86	$97,240	$85,674	32%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.84	$89,190	$84,301	23%

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