Best Cities for Geography Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where geography 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	1.35	$146,040	$131,924	19%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.28	$146,040	$125,356	19%
3	OregonState	1.13	$113,500	$110,194	17%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$107,830	$108,372	16%
5	VermontState	1.08	$107,790	$105,161	16%
6	TexasState	1.07	$99,510	$104,090	17%
7	IllinoisState	1.06	$100,790	$103,480	16%
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$104,790	$101,246	18%
9	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$97,120	$100,124	16%
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$96,180	$98,951	20%
11	ConnecticutState	1.00	$105,470	$98,020	18%
12	KentuckyState	1.00	$86,790	$98,068	13%
13	MinnesotaState	1.00	$95,890	$97,847	16%
14	New MexicoState	0.99	$89,060	$96,804	14%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$103,470	$95,983	21%
16	MarylandState	0.97	$103,430	$94,716	19%
17	MissouriState	0.97	$83,530	$94,278	15%
18	OklahomaState	0.97	$84,170	$95,107	14%
19	MassachusettsState	0.96	$101,870	$93,889	27%
20	South CarolinaState	0.96	$85,810	$93,272	18%
21	GeorgiaState	0.94	$85,420	$91,456	20%
22	IndianaState	0.94	$82,830	$91,525	15%
23	North CarolinaState	0.92	$84,630	$89,650	18%
24	OhioState	0.92	$81,290	$89,923	15%
25	MississippiState	0.91	$75,130	$88,597	14%
26	New YorkState	0.91	$100,420	$89,262	22%
27	TennesseeState	0.91	$81,220	$88,765	19%
28	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.91	$84,630	$88,340	21%
29	MichiganState	0.90	$81,380	$88,169	16%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$85,420	$88,244	23%
31	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$100,080	$87,559	26%
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$99,560	$88,262	24%
33	WisconsinState	0.87	$78,710	$85,276	17%
34	WashingtonState	0.86	$90,550	$84,390	25%
35	ArizonaState	0.84	$82,510	$81,774	22%
36	NebraskaState	0.81	$72,300	$79,016	17%
37	New JerseyState	0.74	$78,540	$72,188	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).