Best Cities for Materials Scientistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where materials scientistss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.64	$231,920	$192,945	16%
2	CaliforniaState	1.36	$177,030	$159,919	15%
3	WisconsinState	1.27	$137,700	$149,187	9%
4	OregonState	1.24	$150,550	$146,165	13%
5	IndianaState	1.22	$130,540	$144,243	10%
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.19	$150,550	$139,657	14%
7	MinnesotaState	1.14	$132,160	$134,857	12%
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$132,160	$132,824	13%
9	IllinoisState	1.10	$125,850	$129,209	13%
10	KansasState	1.09	$115,490	$128,322	11%
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.09	$149,980	$128,738	18%
12	UtahState	1.07	$126,840	$126,587	14%
13	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$127,470	$123,159	15%
14	MassachusettsState	1.04	$132,600	$122,212	20%
15	ConnecticutState	1.03	$130,320	$121,115	14%
16	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$137,600	$120,385	18%
17	OhioState	1.02	$108,830	$120,387	12%
18	VirginiaState	1.02	$124,150	$119,952	15%
19	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$137,520	$120,315	19%
20	WashingtonState	1.01	$127,250	$118,593	18%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$107,650	$118,037	14%
22	MichiganState	0.99	$107,410	$116,371	12%
23	New YorkState	0.99	$131,740	$117,102	17%
24	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$132,600	$116,828	23%
25	New HampshireState	0.96	$119,990	$113,198	16%
26	North CarolinaState	0.96	$106,470	$112,786	15%
27	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$127,490	$113,023	19%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	0.95	$104,430	$111,690	15%
29	ColoradoState	0.94	$117,290	$111,281	19%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$106,920	$110,227	15%
31	South CarolinaState	0.94	$101,930	$110,793	15%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.90	$102,070	$106,545	18%
33	MarylandState	0.87	$112,400	$102,930	18%
34	FloridaState	0.86	$102,340	$100,828	20%
35	GeorgiaState	0.84	$91,970	$98,469	18%
36	IowaState	0.84	$88,320	$99,013	13%
37	NevadaState	0.83	$97,490	$97,295	18%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.82	$93,240	$96,322	21%
39	New JerseyState	0.80	$103,150	$94,807	21%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.74	$92,390	$87,325	22%
41	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.72	$82,080	$84,444	23%
42	TexasState	0.65	$72,700	$76,046	23%
43	TennesseeState	0.64	$69,010	$75,421	22%
44	MontanaState	0.63	$71,810	$74,492	19%

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