Best Cities for Nurse Anesthetistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nurse anesthetistss 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	West VirginiaState	1.40	$278,530	$330,796	4%
2	AlaskaState	1.38	$341,210	$327,143	5%
3	IowaState	1.29	$273,070	$306,132	4%
4	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.28	$279,410	$303,707	6%
5	WisconsinState	1.25	$273,170	$295,959	5%
6	IllinoisState	1.24	$286,830	$294,487	5%
7	South DakotaState	1.23	$263,930	$290,672	4%
8	MontanaState	1.22	$277,380	$287,739	5%
9	South CarolinaState	1.22	$265,480	$288,565	6%
10	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.22	$277,550	$289,718	6%
11	New YorkState	1.21	$321,030	$285,360	7%
12	VermontState	1.17	$283,060	$276,156	6%
13	MissouriState	1.16	$242,630	$273,849	5%
14	WyomingState	1.16	$255,250	$274,462	5%
15	IdahoState	1.15	$263,130	$272,674	5%
16	MassachusettsState	1.15	$295,550	$272,396	9%
17	MinnesotaState	1.15	$266,190	$271,622	6%
18	NebraskaState	1.14	$246,730	$269,650	5%
19	MichiganState	1.13	$247,010	$267,616	5%
20	New JerseyState	1.13	$291,350	$267,785	7%
21	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$243,130	$266,590	6%
22	CaliforniaState	1.12	$292,410	$264,146	9%
23	OregonState	1.12	$272,330	$264,398	7%
24	North DakotaState	1.11	$244,240	$263,758	5%
25	ArkansasState	1.10	$224,280	$259,884	5%
26	New HampshireState	1.10	$275,980	$260,358	7%
27	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$258,570	$259,869	7%
28	OhioState	1.08	$231,810	$256,427	5%
29	TexasState	1.08	$244,990	$256,266	7%
30	WashingtonState	1.08	$274,390	$255,722	8%
31	KentuckyState	1.06	$222,520	$251,435	5%
32	MaineState	1.05	$247,470	$247,966	6%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$231,810	$247,925	7%
34	ArizonaState	1.04	$248,660	$246,442	7%
35	LouisianaState	1.04	$222,130	$246,537	6%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$239,060	$246,963	8%
37	VirginiaState	1.03	$252,110	$243,585	7%
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$282,930	$242,858	10%
39	GeorgiaState	1.02	$224,630	$240,503	8%
40	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$223,570	$241,697	6%
41	North CarolinaState	1.01	$224,610	$237,934	7%
42	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$274,390	$240,061	10%
43	KansasState	1.00	$212,090	$235,656	6%
44	MississippiState	0.99	$198,410	$233,974	5%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.99	$218,080	$235,000	7%
46	TennesseeState	0.98	$211,450	$231,093	7%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$221,530	$228,381	7%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$238,540	$230,473	8%
49	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.96	$246,070	$228,265	9%
50	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.95	$218,650	$224,949	9%
51	ConnecticutState	0.93	$236,960	$220,223	8%
52	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$211,450	$219,802	9%
53	AlabamaState	0.92	$190,300	$218,485	6%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$232,000	$213,825	11%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.89	$206,270	$209,411	10%
56	FloridaState	0.88	$210,570	$207,458	10%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.87	$217,620	$205,690	9%
58	MarylandState	0.86	$223,140	$204,341	9%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.84	$223,150	$197,828	11%
60	OklahomaState	0.75	$156,830	$177,209	7%
61	New MexicoState	0.59	$129,370	$140,620	10%
62	UtahState	0.53	$126,600	$126,347	14%

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