Best Cities for Nurse Practitionerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nurse practitionerss 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	1.46	$231,560	$192,646	16%
2	CaliforniaState	1.15	$168,520	$152,231	16%
3	OklahomaState	1.14	$133,390	$150,723	9%
4	OregonState	1.14	$155,680	$151,146	12%
5	West VirginiaState	1.14	$127,320	$151,211	8%
6	New MexicoState	1.13	$137,520	$149,478	9%
7	AlaskaState	1.12	$155,170	$148,773	11%
8	MississippiState	1.11	$124,730	$147,087	9%
9	MissouriState	1.11	$129,930	$146,648	10%
10	New JerseyState	1.11	$159,310	$146,425	14%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$134,390	$147,357	11%
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$158,890	$147,393	14%
13	ArkansasState	1.10	$125,660	$145,608	8%
14	IowaState	1.10	$130,160	$145,919	9%
15	WashingtonState	1.10	$156,100	$145,480	15%
16	NebraskaState	1.09	$132,130	$144,404	9%
17	IndianaState	1.08	$128,830	$142,354	10%
18	MichiganState	1.08	$131,450	$142,416	10%
19	MontanaState	1.08	$137,210	$142,334	10%
20	WisconsinState	1.08	$131,980	$142,990	10%
21	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$131,770	$143,228	12%
22	South DakotaState	1.07	$128,840	$141,894	9%
23	WyomingState	1.07	$132,200	$142,151	9%
24	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$130,760	$140,905	12%
25	KansasState	1.06	$126,650	$140,722	10%
26	NevadaState	1.06	$140,670	$140,389	12%
27	North DakotaState	1.06	$130,070	$140,464	9%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$160,090	$140,061	16%
29	GeorgiaState	1.05	$129,430	$138,576	13%
30	KentuckyState	1.05	$122,870	$138,836	9%
31	LouisianaState	1.05	$125,600	$139,401	10%
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$161,470	$138,601	17%
33	IdahoState	1.04	$132,540	$137,347	11%
34	OhioState	1.04	$124,870	$138,131	10%
35	TexasState	1.04	$131,670	$137,730	13%
36	MinnesotaState	1.03	$133,260	$135,980	12%
37	New YorkState	1.03	$153,510	$136,453	14%
38	North CarolinaState	1.03	$128,990	$136,642	12%
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$132,500	$136,880	15%
40	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$130,310	$136,023	14%
41	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$135,970	$135,294	13%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$130,980	$134,753	15%
43	ArizonaState	1.01	$134,420	$133,221	13%
44	IllinoisState	1.01	$130,680	$134,168	12%
45	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$130,140	$134,165	12%
46	South CarolinaState	1.01	$123,290	$134,011	12%
47	Columbus, OHMetro	1.01	$124,580	$133,241	12%
48	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$133,370	$134,040	13%
49	MaineState	0.99	$130,260	$130,521	12%
50	MassachusettsState	0.99	$142,440	$131,281	19%
51	UtahState	0.99	$130,920	$130,659	14%
52	VermontState	0.99	$134,740	$131,454	13%
53	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$135,700	$131,111	14%
54	DelawareState	0.98	$131,040	$129,743	12%
55	New HampshireState	0.98	$137,550	$129,764	14%
56	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$147,480	$129,938	21%
57	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$119,630	$129,330	12%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$128,120	$130,071	16%
59	ConnecticutState	0.97	$138,470	$128,690	14%
60	TennesseeState	0.97	$117,590	$128,514	13%
61	FloridaState	0.96	$129,510	$127,596	16%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.96	$122,320	$127,152	15%
63	ColoradoState	0.95	$132,930	$126,120	17%
64	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$131,990	$124,754	15%
65	HawaiiState	0.93	$135,570	$123,245	21%
66	VirginiaState	0.93	$127,810	$123,488	15%
67	AlabamaState	0.92	$105,750	$121,412	11%
68	MarylandState	0.91	$131,110	$120,064	15%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$131,340	$121,051	19%
70	District of ColumbiaState	0.90	$135,880	$118,880	19%
71	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.90	$134,840	$119,539	18%

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