Best Cities for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where medical scientists, except epidemiologistss 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	1.28	$159,300	$132,529	24%
2	CaliforniaState	1.20	$136,990	$123,749	20%
3	New JerseyState	1.15	$129,280	$118,824	17%
4	MassachusettsState	1.14	$128,210	$118,166	21%
5	ArizonaState	1.12	$116,820	$115,778	15%
6	MissouriState	1.12	$102,540	$115,734	12%
7	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.12	$134,890	$115,785	20%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.10	$129,500	$114,097	24%
9	TennesseeState	1.09	$102,720	$112,262	15%
10	ConnecticutState	1.05	$116,990	$108,727	16%
11	North CarolinaState	1.05	$102,980	$109,089	15%
12	OregonState	1.04	$111,030	$107,796	17%
13	MontanaState	1.02	$101,950	$105,757	13%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$112,640	$104,490	19%
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.00	$102,940	$103,457	17%
16	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$99,190	$102,258	16%
17	Rhode IslandState	0.99	$103,370	$102,856	17%
18	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.98	$97,440	$101,712	18%
19	AlaskaState	0.97	$104,930	$100,604	16%
20	DelawareState	0.96	$100,190	$99,198	16%
21	GeorgiaState	0.96	$92,450	$98,983	18%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$102,950	$99,469	19%
23	NevadaState	0.95	$98,560	$98,363	18%
24	WashingtonState	0.95	$105,680	$98,490	22%
25	West VirginiaState	0.95	$82,690	$98,207	12%
26	MarylandState	0.94	$106,000	$97,070	19%
27	New HampshireState	0.92	$100,650	$94,953	19%
28	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$107,110	$94,956	22%
29	IowaState	0.91	$83,850	$94,002	14%
30	KansasState	0.91	$84,490	$93,878	15%
31	MaineState	0.91	$93,730	$93,918	17%
32	FloridaState	0.90	$94,940	$93,537	22%
33	OhioState	0.90	$83,910	$92,821	15%
34	MinnesotaState	0.89	$89,950	$91,786	17%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.89	$84,310	$92,445	17%
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$105,430	$92,240	25%
37	MichiganState	0.88	$84,310	$91,343	16%
38	IndianaState	0.87	$81,110	$89,624	16%
39	VirginiaState	0.87	$93,620	$90,454	20%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$87,490	$90,382	22%
41	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$84,300	$90,160	18%
42	District of ColumbiaState	0.86	$101,940	$89,186	25%
43	NebraskaState	0.86	$80,970	$88,492	15%
44	South DakotaState	0.86	$80,890	$89,086	14%
45	WisconsinState	0.86	$82,530	$89,415	16%
46	KentuckyState	0.85	$77,580	$87,661	15%
47	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.85	$81,250	$87,554	19%
48	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.85	$95,770	$88,267	26%
49	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$86,890	$88,213	24%
50	OklahomaState	0.84	$76,480	$86,418	15%
51	IdahoState	0.83	$83,010	$86,021	17%
52	IllinoisState	0.82	$82,330	$84,528	19%
53	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.82	$77,720	$84,478	20%
54	ArkansasState	0.81	$72,530	$84,044	15%
55	TexasState	0.81	$80,470	$84,174	21%
56	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.81	$88,980	$84,102	23%
57	UtahState	0.80	$82,940	$82,774	22%
58	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.79	$79,470	$81,759	24%
59	AlabamaState	0.76	$68,490	$78,634	17%
60	New YorkState	0.75	$87,760	$78,009	25%
61	New MexicoState	0.71	$67,100	$72,935	19%
62	North DakotaState	0.67	$64,470	$69,622	18%
63	VermontState	0.63	$66,500	$64,878	26%
64	MississippiState	0.62	$54,040	$63,726	20%

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