Best Cities for Massage Therapistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where massage 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	AlaskaState	2.21	$134,930	$129,367	12%
2	OregonState	1.44	$86,970	$84,437	22%
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.41	$94,220	$82,432	28%
4	WashingtonState	1.39	$87,360	$81,417	26%
5	North DakotaState	1.37	$74,140	$80,065	16%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.34	$84,730	$78,599	25%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.33	$70,960	$77,807	21%
8	MichiganState	1.32	$70,960	$76,880	19%
9	New HampshireState	1.30	$80,360	$75,811	24%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.30	$75,340	$75,719	24%
11	Rhode IslandState	1.28	$74,960	$74,587	24%
12	HawaiiState	1.26	$81,280	$73,891	35%
13	MaineState	1.26	$73,290	$73,437	21%
14	MissouriState	1.20	$62,050	$70,034	20%
15	KentuckyState	1.16	$59,790	$67,559	19%
16	WyomingState	1.14	$61,980	$66,645	19%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.13	$75,160	$66,220	41%
18	IowaState	1.11	$57,710	$64,697	20%
19	MinnesotaState	1.10	$63,070	$64,357	24%
20	North CarolinaState	1.10	$60,650	$64,248	26%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$59,290	$64,097	24%
22	South CarolinaState	1.08	$58,000	$63,043	26%
23	WisconsinState	1.08	$58,070	$62,914	22%
24	IdahoState	1.07	$60,420	$62,611	24%
25	ArizonaState	1.06	$62,400	$61,843	29%
26	IllinoisState	1.06	$60,490	$62,105	26%
27	OhioState	1.06	$55,990	$61,936	22%
28	TexasState	1.06	$59,370	$62,103	28%
29	UtahState	1.06	$62,130	$62,006	29%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$56,870	$61,815	28%
31	IndianaState	1.05	$55,590	$61,425	23%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$58,930	$61,514	31%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$57,580	$61,583	27%
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$59,010	$60,710	32%
35	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$58,300	$60,103	27%
36	VirginiaState	1.03	$62,220	$60,116	30%
37	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$63,820	$60,321	32%
38	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$55,810	$60,140	28%
39	NebraskaState	1.01	$53,950	$58,962	23%
40	DelawareState	1.00	$58,870	$58,287	28%
41	MassachusettsState	1.00	$63,390	$58,424	43%
42	ColoradoState	0.99	$61,060	$57,932	36%
43	ConnecticutState	0.99	$62,260	$57,862	30%
44	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$65,220	$57,819	37%
45	MarylandState	0.98	$62,270	$57,024	32%
46	South DakotaState	0.98	$52,000	$57,269	22%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$59,560	$57,546	32%
48	AlabamaState	0.96	$48,930	$56,177	23%
49	District of ColumbiaState	0.96	$64,110	$56,089	39%
50	KansasState	0.95	$49,990	$55,544	25%
51	MontanaState	0.95	$53,540	$55,539	25%
52	New YorkState	0.95	$62,630	$55,671	35%
53	West VirginiaState	0.95	$46,600	$55,344	22%
54	TennesseeState	0.94	$50,070	$54,721	30%
55	GeorgiaState	0.93	$50,820	$54,411	33%
56	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$52,140	$54,200	36%
57	NevadaState	0.91	$53,540	$53,433	33%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$51,470	$52,254	40%
59	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.86	$48,610	$50,217	40%
60	FloridaState	0.84	$49,680	$48,946	42%
61	MississippiState	0.82	$40,490	$47,748	27%
62	ArkansasState	0.79	$39,990	$46,338	26%
63	New JerseyState	0.79	$50,150	$46,094	43%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$48,370	$44,581	51%
65	CaliforniaState	0.71	$45,970	$41,527	59%
66	OklahomaState	0.71	$36,630	$41,390	32%
67	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.71	$50,060	$41,647	75%
68	New MexicoState	0.70	$37,840	$41,130	33%
69	LouisianaState	0.69	$36,480	$40,488	34%
70	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.64	$43,530	$37,365	62%

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