Best Cities for Nurse Midwivess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nurse midwivess 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	CaliforniaState	1.37	$203,840	$184,137	13%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.30	$202,850	$174,120	13%
3	HawaiiState	1.15	$170,110	$154,645	17%
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.15	$174,870	$154,070	18%
5	NebraskaState	1.13	$138,880	$151,781	9%
6	WashingtonState	1.11	$158,970	$148,155	14%
7	IowaState	1.10	$131,360	$147,265	9%
8	MassachusettsState	1.10	$159,800	$147,281	17%
9	MissouriState	1.10	$130,220	$146,975	10%
10	VermontState	1.10	$151,030	$147,346	11%
11	WisconsinState	1.08	$133,070	$144,171	10%
12	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$134,380	$143,722	12%
13	New JerseyState	1.06	$153,970	$141,517	14%
14	OregonState	1.06	$146,900	$142,621	13%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$162,970	$142,581	16%
16	OhioState	1.05	$127,730	$141,294	10%
17	ArizonaState	1.04	$140,960	$139,703	13%
18	MinnesotaState	1.03	$134,810	$137,561	11%
19	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$125,140	$137,215	12%
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$147,140	$136,494	15%
21	MichiganState	1.01	$125,140	$135,580	11%
22	New HampshireState	1.01	$142,960	$134,868	13%
23	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.01	$146,590	$135,106	17%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$134,810	$135,487	13%
25	MaineState	1.00	$133,270	$133,537	12%
26	New MexicoState	1.00	$123,350	$134,076	10%
27	North CarolinaState	1.00	$126,040	$133,517	12%
28	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$135,180	$134,507	13%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.00	$128,110	$133,727	14%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$129,990	$133,735	15%
31	LouisianaState	0.99	$119,280	$132,386	11%
32	South CarolinaState	0.99	$122,390	$133,033	12%
33	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$149,170	$132,243	16%
34	VirginiaState	0.98	$135,710	$131,121	14%
35	ColoradoState	0.97	$137,610	$130,560	16%
36	UtahState	0.97	$130,930	$130,669	14%
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$128,020	$129,970	16%
38	MarylandState	0.96	$140,120	$128,315	14%
39	New YorkState	0.96	$144,510	$128,453	15%
40	TexasState	0.96	$123,380	$129,059	13%
41	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$135,910	$128,459	15%
42	AlaskaState	0.95	$133,430	$127,929	12%
43	TennesseeState	0.95	$116,980	$127,847	13%
44	DelawareState	0.94	$127,510	$126,248	13%
45	FloridaState	0.94	$127,460	$125,576	16%
46	IllinoisState	0.93	$120,840	$124,066	13%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$119,990	$123,701	13%
48	ConnecticutState	0.91	$130,790	$121,552	14%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$117,010	$121,632	16%
50	GeorgiaState	0.84	$105,510	$112,966	16%
51	IndianaState	0.84	$101,630	$112,298	12%
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.81	$105,510	$108,998	18%
53	District of ColumbiaState	0.66	$101,450	$88,758	25%
54	North DakotaState	0.59	$72,630	$78,434	16%
55	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.56	$77,620	$74,995	25%

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