Best Cities for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Educations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where middle school teachers, except special and career/technical educations 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	WashingtonState	1.48	$102,140	$95,191	22%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.43	$92,760	$92,299	19%
3	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.42	$84,800	$91,676	17%
4	CaliforniaState	1.39	$98,950	$89,386	27%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.39	$102,560	$89,729	26%
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.36	$105,030	$87,379	36%
7	ConnecticutState	1.35	$93,610	$86,998	20%
8	OhioState	1.32	$77,090	$85,277	16%
9	New YorkState	1.31	$94,840	$84,302	23%
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.31	$98,370	$84,438	28%
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.29	$94,170	$82,969	33%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.29	$89,590	$83,108	24%
13	MassachusettsState	1.28	$89,450	$82,442	30%
14	New MexicoState	1.27	$75,240	$81,783	17%
15	PennsylvaniaState	1.25	$77,930	$80,340	20%
16	UtahState	1.23	$79,180	$79,022	23%
17	IllinoisState	1.21	$76,110	$78,142	21%
18	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.21	$75,490	$77,986	26%
19	AlaskaState	1.18	$78,940	$75,686	21%
20	OregonState	1.18	$78,350	$76,068	24%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.17	$79,360	$75,009	25%
22	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.17	$78,130	$75,488	25%
23	MarylandState	1.12	$78,510	$71,896	26%
24	New JerseyState	1.12	$78,770	$72,399	27%
25	VermontState	1.12	$73,940	$72,137	23%
26	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$65,140	$71,425	22%
27	AlabamaState	1.10	$61,770	$70,918	19%
28	District of ColumbiaState	1.09	$79,900	$69,904	32%
29	GeorgiaState	1.08	$64,780	$69,358	26%
30	ArkansasState	1.07	$59,570	$69,027	18%
31	KentuckyState	1.07	$61,120	$69,062	19%
32	MichiganState	1.07	$63,790	$69,112	21%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$64,410	$68,888	24%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.07	$77,350	$68,573	31%
35	NebraskaState	1.06	$62,510	$68,317	20%
36	West VirginiaState	1.06	$57,210	$67,945	18%
37	IowaState	1.05	$60,450	$67,769	19%
38	KansasState	1.05	$60,580	$67,311	21%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$65,660	$67,551	29%
40	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$62,570	$67,425	25%
41	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$62,050	$67,446	25%
42	DelawareState	1.04	$67,780	$67,109	24%
43	IndianaState	1.04	$60,700	$67,072	21%
44	MissouriState	1.04	$59,310	$66,941	21%
45	New HampshireState	1.04	$71,140	$67,113	27%
46	WisconsinState	1.04	$61,960	$67,129	21%
47	WyomingState	1.04	$62,480	$67,183	19%
48	NevadaState	1.03	$66,300	$66,168	26%
49	South CarolinaState	1.03	$60,810	$66,098	25%
50	TennesseeState	1.03	$60,690	$66,328	25%
51	TexasState	1.03	$63,390	$66,308	26%
52	LouisianaState	1.01	$58,760	$65,216	21%
53	North DakotaState	1.01	$60,100	$64,903	20%
54	MaineState	0.99	$63,590	$63,717	24%
55	MinnesotaState	0.99	$62,640	$63,918	25%
56	MontanaState	0.99	$61,550	$63,849	22%
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$61,090	$63,503	31%
58	HawaiiState	0.98	$69,230	$62,936	41%
59	IdahoState	0.98	$60,930	$63,140	24%
60	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$62,800	$63,116	28%
61	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.96	$59,110	$61,701	30%
62	VirginiaState	0.95	$63,520	$61,372	30%
63	ColoradoState	0.94	$63,760	$60,493	35%
64	MississippiState	0.93	$50,790	$59,894	21%
65	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$58,940	$59,838	35%
66	ArizonaState	0.92	$59,710	$59,177	30%
67	FloridaState	0.90	$58,940	$58,069	35%
68	South DakotaState	0.87	$50,980	$56,145	23%
69	North CarolinaState	0.86	$52,010	$55,095	30%
70	OklahomaState	0.85	$48,440	$54,734	24%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$58,070	$53,521	42%

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