Best Cities for Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographerss 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	TexasState	1.49	$145,220	$151,904	11%
2	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.34	$132,780	$136,605	14%
3	OklahomaState	1.33	$119,990	$135,582	10%
4	MississippiState	1.30	$112,400	$132,547	10%
5	Rhode IslandState	1.18	$121,010	$120,408	15%
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.15	$132,620	$117,571	18%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.11	$136,120	$113,245	28%
8	ColoradoState	1.07	$114,410	$108,548	19%
9	AlaskaState	1.01	$107,410	$102,982	15%
10	AlabamaState	1.00	$88,610	$101,734	13%
11	LouisianaState	1.00	$91,560	$101,620	14%
12	MarylandState	0.99	$110,510	$101,200	18%
13	North CarolinaState	0.99	$95,260	$100,911	16%
14	IllinoisState	0.98	$96,950	$99,538	16%
15	MassachusettsState	0.98	$108,210	$99,733	25%
16	NevadaState	0.98	$99,890	$99,691	17%
17	WashingtonState	0.96	$105,020	$97,875	22%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$105,020	$97,421	20%
19	HawaiiState	0.95	$106,270	$96,609	27%
20	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$90,060	$97,047	17%
21	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$88,990	$96,728	18%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$95,140	$96,589	22%
23	CaliforniaState	0.94	$106,500	$96,206	26%
24	New HampshireState	0.94	$101,150	$95,425	19%
25	New MexicoState	0.94	$88,530	$96,228	14%
26	IdahoState	0.93	$91,170	$94,477	16%
27	OregonState	0.93	$98,110	$95,252	19%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$107,800	$94,313	24%
29	FloridaState	0.92	$95,140	$93,734	22%
30	MissouriState	0.92	$83,390	$94,120	15%
31	NebraskaState	0.92	$85,550	$93,497	15%
32	South CarolinaState	0.92	$86,070	$93,554	17%
33	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$101,750	$93,779	24%
34	DelawareState	0.91	$93,640	$92,713	17%
35	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.90	$94,850	$91,643	20%
36	North DakotaState	0.89	$84,070	$90,788	14%
37	West VirginiaState	0.89	$76,060	$90,333	13%
38	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.89	$102,730	$90,511	30%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.89	$86,420	$90,209	21%
40	OhioState	0.88	$81,220	$89,845	15%
41	UtahState	0.88	$89,990	$89,810	20%
42	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$84,140	$89,989	18%
43	KansasState	0.87	$80,080	$88,978	16%
44	KentuckyState	0.86	$77,510	$87,582	15%
45	MichiganState	0.86	$80,990	$87,746	17%
46	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$83,970	$87,287	22%
47	MaineState	0.85	$86,840	$87,014	18%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.85	$84,180	$86,784	18%
49	TennesseeState	0.84	$77,870	$85,104	19%
50	VirginiaState	0.84	$88,390	$85,401	21%
51	WisconsinState	0.84	$78,610	$85,168	17%
52	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.84	$78,500	$86,075	19%
53	ArizonaState	0.83	$85,190	$84,430	21%
54	VermontState	0.83	$87,070	$84,946	20%
55	IowaState	0.82	$74,460	$83,475	15%
56	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.82	$83,100	$83,518	21%
57	MinnesotaState	0.81	$80,540	$82,184	19%
58	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.81	$76,410	$82,605	19%
59	New JerseyState	0.80	$88,500	$81,342	24%
60	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.80	$86,650	$81,900	23%
61	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.80	$94,660	$81,253	29%
62	WyomingState	0.79	$74,910	$80,548	16%
63	GeorgiaState	0.78	$73,920	$79,143	23%
64	ArkansasState	0.77	$67,880	$78,656	16%
65	MontanaState	0.77	$75,520	$78,340	18%
66	South DakotaState	0.77	$71,150	$78,359	16%
67	New YorkState	0.75	$86,410	$76,809	26%
68	IndianaState	0.74	$68,240	$75,403	19%
69	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.71	$70,180	$72,500	28%
70	ConnecticutState	0.56	$61,810	$57,444	30%

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