Best Cities for Marriage and Family Therapistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where marriage and family therapistss 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	HawaiiState	1.93	$141,960	$129,055	20%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.57	$101,460	$104,814	19%
3	GeorgiaState	1.46	$91,550	$98,019	19%
4	OregonState	1.33	$91,520	$88,854	21%
5	Columbus, OHMetro	1.30	$81,500	$87,166	19%
6	New JerseyState	1.27	$92,150	$84,697	23%
7	UtahState	1.27	$84,980	$84,810	21%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.26	$95,460	$84,628	25%
9	ConnecticutState	1.20	$86,250	$80,158	22%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$95,110	$79,126	40%
11	OhioState	1.16	$70,240	$77,699	18%
12	New MexicoState	1.15	$70,630	$76,772	18%
13	VirginiaState	1.15	$79,900	$77,198	24%
14	KansasState	1.14	$68,710	$76,344	18%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.14	$78,640	$75,981	24%
16	DelawareState	1.13	$76,580	$75,822	21%
17	IowaState	1.13	$67,180	$75,314	17%
18	ArkansasState	1.11	$64,340	$74,554	16%
19	MinnesotaState	1.10	$72,470	$73,949	21%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$73,370	$73,739	24%
21	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$77,850	$72,217	28%
22	MaineState	1.07	$71,680	$71,824	22%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$64,430	$69,654	22%
24	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$64,190	$69,772	24%
25	MissouriState	1.02	$60,440	$68,217	21%
26	NebraskaState	1.02	$62,610	$68,426	20%
27	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$66,040	$68,082	24%
28	West VirginiaState	0.99	$55,700	$66,152	18%
29	ArizonaState	0.97	$65,290	$64,708	28%
30	IdahoState	0.97	$62,700	$64,974	23%
31	OklahomaState	0.97	$57,670	$65,164	20%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$68,700	$64,934	29%
33	MarylandState	0.96	$69,900	$64,011	29%
34	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$59,120	$63,707	26%
35	IllinoisState	0.94	$60,970	$62,598	26%
36	IndianaState	0.94	$56,810	$62,773	22%
37	MassachusettsState	0.93	$67,370	$62,092	40%
38	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$69,830	$61,524	44%
39	CaliforniaState	0.91	$67,300	$60,795	40%
40	MississippiState	0.91	$51,440	$60,660	21%
41	VermontState	0.91	$62,780	$61,249	27%
42	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$71,110	$61,039	38%
43	South CarolinaState	0.90	$55,430	$60,250	27%
44	KentuckyState	0.88	$52,420	$59,232	22%
45	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.88	$53,600	$58,772	27%
46	AlabamaState	0.86	$49,990	$57,394	23%
47	AlaskaState	0.86	$60,010	$57,536	27%
48	ColoradoState	0.86	$60,700	$57,590	36%
49	New YorkState	0.86	$64,430	$57,271	34%
50	MichiganState	0.85	$52,270	$56,631	26%
51	New HampshireState	0.85	$60,030	$56,632	32%
52	WashingtonState	0.84	$60,000	$55,918	38%
53	FloridaState	0.83	$56,400	$55,567	37%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$58,660	$54,065	42%
55	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.78	$60,000	$52,493	44%
56	North CarolinaState	0.76	$48,100	$50,953	32%
57	TennesseeState	0.76	$46,700	$51,038	32%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.76	$50,440	$51,208	41%
59	South DakotaState	0.74	$44,870	$49,416	26%
60	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.74	$47,850	$49,228	40%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.74	$47,650	$49,532	39%
62	MontanaState	0.73	$46,960	$48,714	29%
63	TexasState	0.72	$46,300	$48,431	36%
64	WisconsinState	0.61	$37,870	$41,029	34%

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