Best Cities for Healthcare Social Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where healthcare social workerss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$107,170	$89,160	35%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.21	$94,100	$82,327	27%
3	OregonState	1.21	$84,350	$81,893	23%
4	CaliforniaState	1.19	$89,660	$80,994	30%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.19	$73,600	$80,702	20%
6	VermontState	1.17	$81,140	$79,161	21%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.17	$85,790	$79,583	25%
8	NevadaState	1.15	$78,470	$78,313	22%
9	UtahState	1.15	$78,150	$77,994	23%
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.15	$75,930	$78,117	25%
11	HawaiiState	1.14	$85,420	$77,655	34%
12	IdahoState	1.14	$74,500	$77,202	19%
13	New JerseyState	1.12	$82,690	$76,002	26%
14	MinnesotaState	1.11	$73,970	$75,480	21%
15	Rhode IslandState	1.11	$75,390	$75,015	24%
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$73,970	$74,342	24%
17	ConnecticutState	1.09	$79,900	$74,257	24%
18	New HampshireState	1.09	$78,260	$73,830	24%
19	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$67,860	$73,761	23%
20	MichiganState	1.08	$67,600	$73,239	20%
21	MississippiState	1.08	$62,250	$73,408	17%
22	TexasState	1.08	$69,990	$73,211	24%
23	WashingtonState	1.08	$78,570	$73,225	29%
24	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$83,550	$73,097	32%
25	KentuckyState	1.07	$64,080	$72,407	18%
26	WisconsinState	1.07	$66,910	$72,492	19%
27	MaineState	1.06	$71,610	$71,754	22%
28	New MexicoState	1.06	$65,930	$71,663	19%
29	IndianaState	1.05	$64,580	$71,359	20%
30	KansasState	1.05	$64,440	$71,600	19%
31	West VirginiaState	1.05	$60,140	$71,425	17%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$75,720	$71,569	27%
33	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$66,260	$71,401	23%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$80,710	$71,551	30%
35	IowaState	1.04	$63,050	$70,684	18%
36	MassachusettsState	1.04	$76,440	$70,452	35%
37	OhioState	1.04	$63,610	$70,365	20%
38	MarylandState	1.03	$76,440	$70,000	26%
39	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$65,280	$69,818	24%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.02	$78,410	$69,084	39%
41	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$66,410	$69,322	27%
42	AlabamaState	1.01	$60,000	$68,886	19%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.01	$79,830	$68,524	34%
44	LouisianaState	1.00	$61,080	$67,791	21%
45	MissouriState	1.00	$59,870	$67,573	21%
46	NebraskaState	1.00	$62,420	$68,219	20%
47	North DakotaState	1.00	$62,860	$67,883	19%
48	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$65,040	$67,609	29%
49	North CarolinaState	0.99	$63,280	$67,034	25%
50	TennesseeState	0.99	$61,240	$66,929	25%
51	WyomingState	0.99	$62,260	$66,946	19%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.99	$65,280	$67,438	30%
53	GeorgiaState	0.98	$62,420	$66,831	27%
54	IllinoisState	0.97	$64,270	$65,986	24%
55	South CarolinaState	0.97	$60,840	$66,130	25%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$64,790	$65,777	32%
57	New YorkState	0.96	$73,070	$64,951	30%
58	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$60,430	$65,330	23%
59	ArkansasState	0.95	$55,640	$64,473	19%
60	VirginiaState	0.95	$66,550	$64,300	28%
61	DelawareState	0.94	$64,620	$63,980	25%
62	FloridaState	0.94	$64,820	$63,862	32%
63	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$61,900	$63,814	25%
64	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$65,990	$63,758	29%
65	ArizonaState	0.93	$64,030	$63,459	28%
66	OklahomaState	0.93	$56,120	$63,412	21%
67	South DakotaState	0.93	$57,510	$63,337	20%
68	ColoradoState	0.89	$63,480	$60,228	35%
69	AlaskaState	0.88	$62,000	$59,444	26%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$64,510	$59,456	38%
71	MontanaState	0.87	$57,090	$59,222	24%

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