Best Cities for Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all others 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	MarylandState	1.31	$164,670	$150,797	12%
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.28	$166,230	$147,367	14%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.19	$133,060	$137,459	15%
4	GeorgiaState	1.17	$126,300	$135,225	13%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.15	$151,990	$132,975	17%
6	MontanaState	1.11	$122,930	$127,521	11%
7	MissouriState	1.10	$112,260	$126,704	11%
8	North CarolinaState	1.08	$117,210	$124,163	13%
9	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$114,050	$123,967	14%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.06	$128,610	$121,560	16%
11	UtahState	1.03	$119,430	$119,192	15%
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$139,570	$116,115	27%
13	CaliforniaState	0.98	$125,550	$113,415	22%
14	New YorkState	0.98	$127,360	$113,209	17%
15	OhioState	0.98	$101,710	$112,511	12%
16	WisconsinState	0.98	$104,330	$113,034	12%
17	ConnecticutState	0.97	$119,970	$111,496	16%
18	MaineState	0.97	$112,010	$112,234	14%
19	TexasState	0.96	$105,370	$110,220	16%
20	North DakotaState	0.95	$101,240	$109,330	12%
21	WyomingState	0.95	$101,280	$108,903	12%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$107,810	$109,452	19%
23	HawaiiState	0.94	$119,520	$108,655	24%
24	AlaskaState	0.92	$110,220	$105,676	15%
25	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$103,150	$106,340	15%
26	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.91	$95,140	$104,320	15%
27	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.90	$96,050	$103,502	16%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$120,540	$103,468	23%
29	New MexicoState	0.89	$94,660	$102,891	13%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.89	$95,200	$102,919	15%
31	MinnesotaState	0.88	$99,400	$101,429	15%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$96,640	$100,877	19%
33	IowaState	0.87	$89,480	$100,314	13%
34	KentuckyState	0.87	$88,610	$100,124	13%
35	MichiganState	0.87	$92,410	$100,119	15%
36	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.87	$99,400	$99,899	18%
37	TennesseeState	0.86	$90,750	$99,180	17%
38	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$96,820	$99,609	20%
39	FloridaState	0.85	$99,260	$97,793	21%
40	IllinoisState	0.85	$95,080	$97,618	17%
41	MassachusettsState	0.85	$106,060	$97,751	26%
42	ColoradoState	0.84	$101,570	$96,366	22%
43	WashingtonState	0.84	$103,380	$96,347	22%
44	KansasState	0.83	$86,550	$96,167	14%
45	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.83	$109,550	$95,844	24%
46	ArizonaState	0.82	$95,780	$94,926	19%
47	ArkansasState	0.82	$81,330	$94,241	13%
48	NebraskaState	0.82	$86,260	$94,273	15%
49	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.82	$107,060	$94,326	29%
50	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.82	$90,750	$94,335	21%
51	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.82	$97,760	$94,454	20%
52	OregonState	0.81	$95,600	$92,816	20%
53	IndianaState	0.80	$83,780	$92,575	15%
54	New JerseyState	0.80	$100,900	$92,739	21%
55	South DakotaState	0.80	$83,780	$92,269	14%
56	Columbus, OHMetro	0.79	$84,860	$90,759	18%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$96,820	$89,235	25%
58	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.75	$92,930	$86,206	23%
59	NevadaState	0.74	$85,590	$85,419	20%
60	VirginiaState	0.73	$87,530	$84,570	22%
61	VermontState	0.71	$83,740	$81,698	20%
62	Rhode IslandState	0.70	$81,280	$80,876	22%
63	New HampshireState	0.68	$82,550	$77,877	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).