Best Cities for Natural Sciences Managerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where natural sciences managerss 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	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.53	$291,000	$256,388	11%
2	MassachusettsState	1.47	$267,290	$246,350	10%
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$263,810	$219,476	14%
4	ConnecticutState	1.17	$210,670	$195,790	9%
5	CaliforniaState	1.14	$210,230	$189,910	13%
6	New JerseyState	1.14	$207,030	$190,285	10%
7	North CarolinaState	1.10	$173,870	$184,184	9%
8	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$173,160	$180,752	10%
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$203,150	$177,734	13%
10	KansasState	1.02	$153,820	$170,911	8%
11	WashingtonState	1.02	$182,480	$170,065	12%
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$172,900	$167,053	11%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$193,340	$165,957	14%
14	IllinoisState	0.98	$159,670	$163,932	10%
15	West VirginiaState	0.98	$138,010	$163,907	7%
16	AlabamaState	0.92	$133,470	$153,238	9%
17	MarylandState	0.92	$168,620	$154,414	12%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$165,200	$153,247	13%
19	OhioState	0.91	$137,170	$151,737	9%
20	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$169,060	$149,876	14%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.89	$156,730	$148,138	13%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	0.88	$138,110	$147,711	11%
23	ColoradoState	0.87	$152,730	$144,905	15%
24	MissouriState	0.87	$129,410	$146,061	10%
25	VirginiaState	0.87	$150,570	$145,478	13%
26	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.86	$143,290	$144,010	12%
27	KentuckyState	0.85	$126,440	$142,870	9%
28	MaineState	0.85	$141,360	$141,643	11%
29	North DakotaState	0.85	$131,370	$141,868	9%
30	PennsylvaniaState	0.85	$137,900	$142,165	11%
31	South CarolinaState	0.85	$131,140	$142,543	11%
32	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.85	$129,140	$141,601	11%
33	MichiganState	0.84	$129,070	$139,837	10%
34	MississippiState	0.84	$119,430	$140,837	9%
35	South DakotaState	0.84	$128,140	$141,123	9%
36	WisconsinState	0.84	$128,890	$139,642	10%
37	ArkansasState	0.83	$119,430	$138,389	9%
38	MinnesotaState	0.83	$136,450	$139,235	11%
39	OregonState	0.83	$143,120	$138,951	13%
40	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.83	$128,810	$138,804	12%
41	District of ColumbiaState	0.82	$156,730	$137,122	16%
42	TennesseeState	0.81	$124,530	$136,098	12%
43	TexasState	0.81	$129,960	$135,941	13%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.80	$130,010	$133,755	15%
45	NebraskaState	0.79	$120,620	$131,825	10%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.79	$130,010	$131,990	16%
47	Rhode IslandState	0.78	$130,480	$129,831	14%
48	IdahoState	0.77	$124,800	$129,326	12%
49	LouisianaState	0.77	$115,950	$128,690	11%
50	VermontState	0.77	$131,290	$128,088	13%
51	New HampshireState	0.76	$134,010	$126,425	14%
52	OklahomaState	0.76	$112,260	$126,847	10%
53	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.76	$117,620	$127,848	13%
54	AlaskaState	0.75	$130,590	$125,206	13%
55	ArizonaState	0.74	$124,920	$123,806	14%
56	IowaState	0.74	$109,760	$123,049	10%
57	MontanaState	0.74	$119,430	$123,890	11%
58	IndianaState	0.72	$108,250	$119,613	12%
59	New YorkState	0.72	$134,680	$119,716	16%
60	UtahState	0.71	$119,430	$119,192	15%
61	WyomingState	0.70	$109,300	$117,527	11%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.70	$113,370	$117,848	16%
63	NevadaState	0.67	$112,260	$112,036	16%
64	FloridaState	0.66	$112,220	$110,562	18%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.66	$119,700	$110,323	20%
66	HawaiiState	0.59	$107,810	$98,009	27%

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