Best Cities for History Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where history teachers, postsecondarys 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	CaliforniaState	1.37	$127,170	$114,878	21%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.32	$129,120	$110,833	21%
3	MichiganState	1.29	$99,440	$107,736	13%
4	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.27	$98,850	$106,865	14%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.27	$127,780	$106,306	30%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.25	$95,880	$105,132	15%
7	PennsylvaniaState	1.22	$98,850	$101,907	16%
8	OregonState	1.21	$104,330	$101,291	18%
9	New HampshireState	1.20	$106,880	$100,830	18%
10	MaineState	1.19	$99,610	$99,810	16%
11	ArizonaState	1.15	$97,430	$96,561	18%
12	MassachusettsState	1.15	$104,900	$96,682	26%
13	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.15	$99,580	$96,213	19%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$95,350	$95,829	19%
15	ConnecticutState	1.13	$101,950	$94,749	18%
16	MinnesotaState	1.13	$92,970	$94,867	17%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$101,790	$94,425	21%
18	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$105,420	$92,881	29%
19	New JerseyState	1.10	$99,900	$91,820	22%
20	MissouriState	1.09	$80,680	$91,061	15%
21	New MexicoState	1.09	$83,700	$90,978	15%
22	MarylandState	1.07	$97,830	$89,588	21%
23	OhioState	1.07	$81,080	$89,690	15%
24	New YorkState	1.06	$100,400	$89,244	22%
25	IndianaState	1.05	$79,450	$87,790	16%
26	LouisianaState	1.05	$78,990	$87,669	16%
27	WisconsinState	1.05	$81,380	$88,169	16%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$82,440	$88,171	19%
29	IllinoisState	1.03	$83,940	$86,181	19%
30	IowaState	1.03	$77,040	$86,368	15%
31	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$91,310	$86,304	22%
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$83,820	$86,235	23%
33	TexasState	1.02	$81,530	$85,282	20%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$96,840	$85,851	25%
35	GeorgiaState	1.01	$79,010	$84,593	21%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$81,510	$84,205	24%
37	KansasState	0.99	$74,920	$83,244	17%
38	VirginiaState	0.99	$85,910	$83,005	22%
39	West VirginiaState	0.99	$69,560	$82,613	14%
40	NevadaState	0.98	$81,930	$81,766	21%
41	UtahState	0.97	$81,750	$81,587	22%
42	VermontState	0.97	$83,750	$81,707	20%
43	WyomingState	0.97	$75,400	$81,075	16%
44	South CarolinaState	0.96	$73,670	$80,076	20%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.96	$73,980	$80,413	21%
46	North CarolinaState	0.95	$75,070	$79,523	21%
47	TennesseeState	0.95	$72,940	$79,716	21%
48	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$73,800	$79,526	21%
49	MontanaState	0.94	$75,770	$78,600	18%
50	WashingtonState	0.93	$83,250	$77,586	27%
51	AlabamaState	0.91	$66,550	$76,406	17%
52	South DakotaState	0.91	$69,220	$76,233	17%
53	OklahomaState	0.90	$66,910	$75,605	17%
54	ColoradoState	0.89	$78,410	$74,393	28%
55	District of ColumbiaState	0.89	$85,550	$74,847	29%
56	MississippiState	0.89	$63,450	$74,823	17%
57	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$84,520	$73,946	31%
58	KentuckyState	0.87	$64,600	$72,994	18%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$78,720	$72,553	31%
60	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.84	$67,590	$70,553	27%
61	FloridaState	0.83	$70,880	$69,833	29%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.83	$66,590	$69,220	28%
63	NebraskaState	0.75	$57,150	$62,459	22%
64	ArkansasState	0.66	$47,860	$55,458	22%

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