Best Cities for Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Educations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where kindergarten teachers, except special educations 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	WashingtonState	1.49	$99,960	$93,159	23%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.42	$101,580	$88,871	26%
3	Rhode IslandState	1.36	$85,470	$85,045	21%
4	Columbus, OHMetro	1.36	$79,470	$84,995	20%
5	ConnecticutState	1.33	$90,030	$83,671	21%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.30	$80,780	$81,186	22%
7	New MexicoState	1.29	$74,380	$80,848	17%
8	OhioState	1.28	$72,570	$80,277	17%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.25	$75,690	$78,192	26%
10	MassachusettsState	1.24	$84,100	$77,512	32%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.24	$70,800	$77,632	21%
12	MinnesotaState	1.23	$75,500	$77,041	20%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.20	$81,090	$75,223	27%
14	CaliforniaState	1.19	$82,550	$74,571	33%
15	DelawareState	1.17	$74,030	$73,297	22%
16	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.15	$81,700	$71,982	38%
17	District of ColumbiaState	1.14	$81,500	$71,304	31%
18	GeorgiaState	1.12	$65,680	$70,321	26%
19	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.12	$84,620	$70,399	45%
20	MarylandState	1.11	$75,910	$69,515	27%
21	West VirginiaState	1.11	$58,790	$69,822	17%
22	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.11	$73,940	$69,887	27%
23	New YorkState	1.10	$77,630	$69,004	29%
24	KentuckyState	1.09	$60,280	$68,113	19%
25	MichiganState	1.09	$63,300	$68,581	21%
26	New JerseyState	1.09	$74,210	$68,208	29%
27	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.09	$62,600	$68,043	25%
28	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$77,200	$68,440	31%
29	NebraskaState	1.08	$62,200	$67,978	20%
30	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$78,400	$67,296	35%
31	OregonState	1.06	$68,580	$66,583	28%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.06	$64,430	$66,423	24%
33	South CarolinaState	1.06	$60,890	$66,185	25%
34	TexasState	1.06	$63,780	$66,715	26%
35	IllinoisState	1.05	$64,020	$65,729	25%
36	WyomingState	1.05	$60,990	$65,581	19%
37	IowaState	1.04	$58,420	$65,493	20%
38	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$63,330	$65,154	30%
39	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$60,410	$65,097	26%
40	IdahoState	1.03	$62,240	$64,497	23%
41	IndianaState	1.03	$58,250	$64,365	22%
42	NevadaState	1.03	$64,930	$64,800	27%
43	WisconsinState	1.03	$59,350	$64,301	22%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$59,770	$64,616	24%
45	MissouriState	1.02	$56,590	$63,871	22%
46	North DakotaState	1.02	$59,420	$64,168	20%
47	TennesseeState	1.01	$58,070	$63,464	26%
48	UtahState	1.01	$63,190	$63,064	28%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$60,680	$63,077	31%
50	KansasState	1.00	$56,670	$62,967	22%
51	VirginiaState	0.99	$63,920	$61,758	30%
52	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$64,190	$62,019	30%
53	VermontState	0.98	$63,280	$61,737	27%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$58,950	$61,534	31%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$59,860	$60,772	34%
56	ArkansasState	0.96	$52,060	$60,324	20%
57	ColoradoState	0.95	$62,870	$59,649	35%
58	LouisianaState	0.94	$53,130	$58,968	24%
59	AlabamaState	0.93	$50,900	$58,439	23%
60	MississippiState	0.92	$48,880	$57,642	22%
61	FloridaState	0.91	$58,100	$57,241	36%
62	New HampshireState	0.91	$60,240	$56,830	32%
63	North CarolinaState	0.90	$53,180	$56,335	29%
64	South DakotaState	0.87	$49,410	$54,416	23%
65	OklahomaState	0.86	$47,860	$54,079	24%
66	ArizonaState	0.84	$52,830	$52,359	34%
67	MaineState	0.84	$52,660	$52,766	30%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.84	$57,300	$52,811	43%
69	MontanaState	0.79	$47,590	$49,367	28%
70	HawaiiState	0.77	$53,160	$48,327	54%

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