Best Cities for Life Scientists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where life scientists, 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	South CarolinaState	1.96	$169,440	$184,174	9%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.56	$167,640	$146,667	15%
3	AlabamaState	1.35	$110,560	$126,935	10%
4	ArizonaState	1.30	$122,580	$121,487	15%
5	TennesseeState	1.27	$108,770	$118,874	14%
6	MassachusettsState	1.23	$125,260	$115,447	22%
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.19	$126,120	$111,809	19%
8	OregonState	1.17	$113,450	$110,146	17%
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.17	$105,370	$109,990	17%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.11	$125,430	$104,351	30%
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$115,230	$101,524	27%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$109,580	$101,651	20%
13	MarylandState	1.07	$109,700	$100,458	18%
14	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.07	$105,900	$100,095	19%
15	New JerseyState	1.02	$103,890	$95,487	21%
16	WashingtonState	1.00	$100,420	$93,588	23%
17	CaliforniaState	0.99	$102,830	$92,891	26%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$96,030	$92,783	20%
19	WisconsinState	0.98	$85,080	$92,178	15%
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$89,640	$92,222	21%
21	FloridaState	0.97	$91,900	$90,542	22%
22	GeorgiaState	0.96	$83,990	$89,925	20%
23	MissouriState	0.96	$79,780	$90,045	16%
24	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$104,740	$89,906	26%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$103,000	$90,114	26%
26	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$81,540	$88,151	17%
27	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$83,680	$86,268	19%
28	KentuckyState	0.91	$75,670	$85,503	15%
29	LouisianaState	0.91	$76,480	$84,883	16%
30	TexasState	0.91	$81,230	$84,969	20%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$78,640	$81,240	25%
32	AlaskaState	0.84	$82,220	$78,830	20%
33	VirginiaState	0.84	$81,600	$78,841	23%
34	IndianaState	0.82	$69,410	$76,696	18%
35	New HampshireState	0.82	$81,610	$76,991	23%
36	New YorkState	0.82	$86,790	$77,147	26%
37	IowaState	0.77	$64,270	$72,052	18%
38	IdahoState	0.76	$68,990	$71,492	21%
39	MichiganState	0.74	$63,960	$69,296	21%
40	OhioState	0.74	$62,950	$69,635	20%
41	IllinoisState	0.72	$66,190	$67,957	24%
42	HawaiiState	0.70	$71,990	$65,445	40%
43	MinnesotaState	0.70	$64,610	$65,929	24%
44	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.69	$64,610	$64,935	27%
45	ColoradoState	0.67	$66,250	$62,856	33%

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