Best Cities for Occupational Therapy Aidess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where occupational therapy aidess 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 CarolinaState	1.79	$66,190	$70,117	24%
2	NebraskaState	1.26	$44,980	$49,158	28%
3	New MexicoState	1.20	$43,170	$46,924	29%
4	MissouriState	1.12	$38,890	$43,894	32%
5	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.12	$42,790	$44,023	44%
6	WashingtonState	1.09	$45,890	$42,768	50%
7	IndianaState	1.08	$38,250	$42,265	33%
8	MichiganState	1.08	$39,050	$42,308	34%
9	ConnecticutState	1.06	$44,840	$41,673	42%
10	New YorkState	1.05	$46,220	$41,084	48%
11	GeorgiaState	1.04	$38,090	$40,782	45%
12	New JerseyState	1.04	$44,470	$40,873	49%
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$45,840	$40,638	52%
14	OhioState	1.03	$36,380	$40,243	34%
15	WisconsinState	1.02	$36,760	$39,827	35%
16	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.02	$37,100	$40,108	38%
17	CaliforniaState	1.00	$43,480	$39,277	63%
18	OklahomaState	1.00	$34,670	$39,175	34%
19	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$38,090	$39,349	51%
20	TexasState	0.99	$37,180	$38,891	45%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$40,200	$38,841	48%
22	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$37,100	$38,247	42%
23	ColoradoState	0.97	$40,110	$38,055	55%
24	MassachusettsState	0.95	$40,160	$37,014	67%
25	NevadaState	0.93	$36,440	$36,367	48%
26	District of ColumbiaState	0.89	$39,620	$34,663	64%
27	South CarolinaState	0.89	$31,950	$34,728	47%
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$39,820	$34,180	68%
29	IdahoState	0.86	$32,590	$33,772	44%
30	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.86	$38,550	$33,727	68%
31	LouisianaState	0.81	$28,560	$31,698	44%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.80	$35,340	$31,137	87%
33	MarylandState	0.78	$33,310	$30,504	60%
34	TennesseeState	0.78	$27,840	$30,426	54%
35	MississippiState	0.73	$24,300	$28,656	44%

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