Best Cities for Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where healthcare practitioners and technical workers, 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	KentuckyState	1.57	$91,560	$103,458	13%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.54	$121,850	$101,373	31%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.51	$113,640	$99,423	22%
4	MissouriState	1.48	$86,110	$97,190	14%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.45	$107,650	$95,434	22%
6	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.41	$100,670	$92,783	24%
7	New YorkState	1.39	$102,990	$91,547	22%
8	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.38	$89,220	$90,579	23%
9	IndianaState	1.37	$81,290	$89,823	16%
10	WisconsinState	1.34	$81,580	$88,386	16%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.32	$79,440	$87,105	18%
12	MichiganState	1.27	$77,130	$83,564	17%
13	OklahomaState	1.26	$73,320	$82,847	16%
14	MontanaState	1.25	$79,070	$82,023	17%
15	MinnesotaState	1.24	$79,990	$81,622	19%
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.24	$81,270	$81,678	22%
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.23	$78,190	$80,775	25%
18	AlabamaState	1.21	$69,520	$79,816	17%
19	West VirginiaState	1.19	$66,080	$78,480	15%
20	New HampshireState	1.15	$79,860	$75,340	24%
21	FloridaState	1.14	$75,900	$74,778	27%
22	WashingtonState	1.14	$80,730	$75,238	28%
23	IllinoisState	1.13	$72,610	$74,548	22%
24	ConnecticutState	1.12	$78,980	$73,401	24%
25	MassachusettsState	1.12	$80,240	$73,954	34%
26	South CarolinaState	1.12	$67,940	$73,848	22%
27	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.08	$75,000	$70,888	27%
28	ColoradoState	1.07	$74,480	$70,664	30%
29	LouisianaState	1.07	$63,240	$70,189	20%
30	New JerseyState	1.07	$76,570	$70,377	28%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.07	$68,640	$70,617	28%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.06	$66,940	$69,584	28%
33	TennesseeState	1.05	$63,400	$69,290	24%
34	CaliforniaState	1.04	$75,800	$68,473	36%
35	MarylandState	1.04	$75,000	$68,681	27%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$77,670	$68,432	39%
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.04	$77,970	$68,215	34%
38	GeorgiaState	1.03	$63,230	$67,698	27%
39	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$78,940	$67,760	34%
40	OhioState	1.02	$60,670	$67,113	21%
41	UtahState	1.02	$67,320	$67,186	27%
42	AlaskaState	1.00	$68,610	$65,781	24%
43	Columbus, OHMetro	1.00	$61,510	$65,786	25%
44	OregonState	0.99	$67,270	$65,311	28%
45	TexasState	0.99	$62,420	$65,293	27%
46	WyomingState	0.99	$60,410	$64,957	20%
47	IdahoState	0.98	$62,490	$64,756	23%
48	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.98	$69,750	$64,703	31%
49	NevadaState	0.97	$64,170	$64,042	27%
50	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$61,080	$63,758	29%
51	ArizonaState	0.95	$62,860	$62,299	29%
52	Rhode IslandState	0.95	$63,060	$62,746	29%
53	VirginiaState	0.93	$63,410	$61,266	30%
54	North CarolinaState	0.92	$57,390	$60,794	27%
55	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.89	$54,080	$58,783	29%
56	VermontState	0.88	$59,300	$57,854	29%
57	North DakotaState	0.86	$52,240	$56,415	22%
58	NebraskaState	0.82	$49,400	$53,989	25%
59	HawaiiState	0.79	$57,330	$52,118	50%
60	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.76	$46,220	$49,806	33%
61	DelawareState	0.75	$49,990	$49,495	33%
62	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.74	$45,170	$48,832	31%
63	KansasState	0.73	$43,430	$48,256	29%
64	IowaState	0.72	$42,070	$47,164	27%
65	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.72	$49,260	$47,594	39%
66	PennsylvaniaState	0.71	$45,360	$46,763	34%
67	MississippiState	0.68	$37,920	$44,717	28%
68	ArkansasState	0.66	$37,660	$43,638	28%
69	New MexicoState	0.58	$35,270	$38,337	36%

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