Best Cities for Health Education Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where health education specialistss 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	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.81	$112,450	$116,167	17%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.72	$124,590	$110,452	19%
3	GeorgiaState	1.66	$99,400	$106,424	17%
4	MarylandState	1.49	$104,470	$95,668	19%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.41	$103,330	$90,402	24%
6	IowaState	1.33	$75,750	$84,922	15%
7	PennsylvaniaState	1.30	$80,670	$83,165	19%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$80,990	$81,397	22%
9	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.27	$75,480	$81,600	19%
10	MinnesotaState	1.25	$78,400	$80,000	20%
11	WisconsinState	1.25	$74,040	$80,217	18%
12	AlabamaState	1.17	$65,210	$74,868	18%
13	Rhode IslandState	1.17	$75,360	$74,985	24%
14	West VirginiaState	1.16	$62,760	$74,537	16%
15	KentuckyState	1.15	$65,370	$73,864	18%
16	OregonState	1.14	$75,500	$73,301	25%
17	ArkansasState	1.13	$62,270	$72,155	17%
18	WashingtonState	1.13	$77,420	$72,153	29%
19	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.13	$75,220	$72,676	25%
20	OhioState	1.12	$64,860	$71,748	19%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.11	$66,370	$70,984	23%
22	ColoradoState	1.10	$74,150	$70,351	30%
23	OklahomaState	1.10	$62,440	$70,554	19%
24	South CarolinaState	1.10	$64,720	$70,348	23%
25	KansasState	1.09	$62,990	$69,989	20%
26	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$75,500	$70,037	28%
27	AlaskaState	1.08	$71,940	$68,974	23%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.07	$78,670	$68,828	34%
29	New JerseyState	1.06	$73,740	$67,776	29%
30	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$62,990	$67,877	24%
31	WyomingState	1.05	$62,750	$67,473	19%
32	VermontState	1.04	$68,140	$66,478	25%
33	New HampshireState	1.03	$69,990	$66,028	27%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$64,050	$65,895	30%
35	MissouriState	1.01	$57,050	$64,391	22%
36	North DakotaState	1.01	$59,650	$64,417	20%
37	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.01	$59,580	$64,761	26%
38	IndianaState	1.00	$58,170	$64,276	22%
39	LouisianaState	1.00	$57,840	$64,195	22%
40	IdahoState	0.99	$61,330	$63,554	23%
41	South DakotaState	0.99	$57,370	$63,183	20%
42	ArizonaState	0.98	$63,390	$62,825	28%
43	DelawareState	0.98	$63,300	$62,673	26%
44	New MexicoState	0.98	$57,990	$63,033	22%
45	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.98	$75,810	$63,070	50%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$61,790	$62,731	33%
47	ConnecticutState	0.97	$66,870	$62,147	28%
48	NebraskaState	0.97	$56,800	$62,077	22%
49	NevadaState	0.97	$62,120	$61,996	28%
50	TexasState	0.97	$59,340	$62,071	28%
51	VirginiaState	0.97	$64,040	$61,874	30%
52	IllinoisState	0.96	$60,120	$61,725	26%
53	North CarolinaState	0.96	$58,080	$61,525	27%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$64,900	$61,342	31%
55	MichiganState	0.95	$56,360	$61,062	24%
56	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.95	$55,660	$61,031	26%
57	MississippiState	0.94	$51,020	$60,165	21%
58	UtahState	0.93	$59,790	$59,671	30%
59	MaineState	0.91	$58,300	$58,417	27%
60	CaliforniaState	0.90	$63,610	$57,462	43%
61	HawaiiState	0.90	$63,740	$57,945	45%
62	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$54,070	$56,441	33%
63	New YorkState	0.87	$62,560	$55,609	35%
64	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.86	$62,260	$54,855	49%
65	TennesseeState	0.85	$49,630	$54,240	30%
66	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.84	$62,380	$53,545	44%
67	MassachusettsState	0.83	$57,510	$53,005	47%
68	MontanaState	0.83	$51,200	$53,112	26%
69	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.78	$48,040	$49,938	39%
70	FloridaState	0.71	$46,360	$45,675	45%

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