Best Cities for Nursing Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where nursing assistantss 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	North DakotaState	1.17	$45,820	$49,482	26%
2	WisconsinState	1.16	$45,130	$48,895	29%
3	OregonState	1.14	$49,830	$48,379	38%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$48,020	$48,261	37%
5	MinnesotaState	1.13	$46,680	$47,633	33%
6	IllinoisState	1.12	$45,960	$47,187	34%
7	MaineState	1.12	$47,070	$47,164	33%
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.12	$56,840	$47,288	66%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$50,350	$46,707	43%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$43,080	$46,573	33%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$44,590	$45,969	35%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$46,440	$46,209	39%
13	VermontState	1.09	$47,130	$45,980	36%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$42,970	$45,957	36%
15	WashingtonState	1.08	$49,180	$45,834	46%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$51,990	$45,486	51%
17	NevadaState	1.07	$45,490	$45,399	38%
18	New HampshireState	1.07	$47,870	$45,160	40%
19	ColoradoState	1.06	$47,380	$44,953	47%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$46,220	$44,657	41%
21	AlaskaState	1.05	$46,370	$44,458	35%
22	ArizonaState	1.05	$44,780	$44,381	40%
23	IowaState	1.04	$39,350	$44,114	29%
24	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$39,900	$43,750	37%
25	KentuckyState	1.03	$38,370	$43,356	30%
26	NebraskaState	1.03	$40,000	$43,716	31%
27	West VirginiaState	1.03	$36,720	$43,610	27%
28	CaliforniaState	1.02	$47,630	$43,026	57%
29	MassachusettsState	1.02	$46,680	$43,023	58%
30	New JerseyState	1.02	$46,830	$43,042	46%
31	New YorkState	1.02	$48,590	$43,191	46%
32	OhioState	1.02	$39,010	$43,153	32%
33	MichiganState	1.01	$39,570	$42,871	34%
34	MissouriState	1.01	$37,680	$42,528	33%
35	New MexicoState	1.01	$39,390	$42,815	32%
36	South DakotaState	1.01	$38,800	$42,731	30%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$39,710	$42,791	39%
38	IndianaState	1.00	$38,330	$42,354	33%
39	KansasState	1.00	$38,010	$42,233	33%
40	MontanaState	1.00	$40,900	$42,427	33%
41	WyomingState	1.00	$39,160	$42,108	30%
42	ConnecticutState	0.99	$44,790	$41,626	42%
43	District of ColumbiaState	0.99	$47,700	$41,732	53%
44	VirginiaState	0.99	$43,200	$41,739	44%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$47,590	$41,930	64%
46	DelawareState	0.98	$42,030	$41,614	39%
47	HawaiiState	0.98	$45,350	$41,227	63%
48	TennesseeState	0.98	$37,990	$41,519	40%
49	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$39,430	$41,159	46%
50	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$39,510	$41,071	47%
51	North CarolinaState	0.96	$38,460	$40,742	41%
52	OklahomaState	0.96	$35,930	$40,599	32%
53	South CarolinaState	0.96	$37,220	$40,457	40%
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.96	$39,350	$40,651	49%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.96	$42,770	$40,425	47%
56	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$47,380	$40,670	57%
57	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.96	$45,730	$40,541	52%
58	GeorgiaState	0.95	$37,680	$40,343	45%
59	IdahoState	0.95	$38,650	$40,052	37%
60	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$36,800	$40,000	43%
61	ArkansasState	0.94	$34,430	$39,896	31%
62	MarylandState	0.94	$43,240	$39,597	47%
63	UtahState	0.94	$39,840	$39,760	45%
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$38,530	$39,640	49%
65	AlabamaState	0.93	$34,140	$39,196	34%
66	TexasState	0.93	$37,500	$39,226	44%
67	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.90	$37,470	$38,041	55%
68	MississippiState	0.88	$31,520	$37,170	34%
69	FloridaState	0.87	$37,510	$36,956	55%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$38,010	$35,032	64%
71	LouisianaState	0.80	$30,510	$33,862	41%

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