Best Cities for Opticians, Dispensings

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where opticians, dispensings 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	ConnecticutState	1.48	$75,300	$69,981	25%
2	HawaiiState	1.45	$75,300	$68,455	38%
3	New JerseyState	1.41	$72,460	$66,599	30%
4	MassachusettsState	1.31	$67,210	$61,945	40%
5	FloridaState	1.23	$58,850	$57,980	35%
6	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.21	$61,880	$57,032	40%
7	New YorkState	1.20	$63,880	$56,782	35%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.20	$64,170	$56,537	48%
9	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.20	$56,030	$56,883	37%
10	AlaskaState	1.18	$58,250	$55,849	28%
11	OhioState	1.18	$50,500	$55,863	25%
12	VermontState	1.18	$57,350	$55,951	30%
13	TennesseeState	1.15	$49,840	$54,470	30%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.15	$50,730	$54,257	31%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.15	$52,300	$54,366	36%
16	VirginiaState	1.14	$55,820	$53,932	34%
17	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.14	$51,620	$53,883	35%
18	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$61,310	$53,640	41%
19	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.13	$51,890	$53,605	37%
20	North CarolinaState	1.12	$50,190	$53,167	31%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.12	$59,520	$52,766	40%
22	CaliforniaState	1.11	$57,990	$52,385	47%
23	South CarolinaState	1.10	$48,000	$52,174	31%
24	GeorgiaState	1.09	$48,010	$51,403	35%
25	IowaState	1.06	$44,480	$49,865	26%
26	KentuckyState	1.06	$44,290	$50,045	26%
27	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$46,470	$50,238	30%
28	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.06	$60,480	$50,316	62%
29	ArkansasState	1.05	$42,880	$49,687	25%
30	MinnesotaState	1.04	$48,020	$49,000	32%
31	New HampshireState	1.04	$51,980	$49,038	37%
32	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$48,840	$49,085	36%
33	MontanaState	1.03	$47,050	$48,807	29%
34	North DakotaState	1.03	$45,230	$48,844	26%
35	WisconsinState	1.03	$44,820	$48,559	29%
36	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.02	$43,830	$48,059	33%
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$56,130	$48,180	48%
38	ArizonaState	1.01	$48,210	$47,780	37%
39	OregonState	1.01	$49,210	$47,777	39%
40	South DakotaState	1.01	$43,400	$47,797	26%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$49,300	$47,633	39%
42	MaineState	1.00	$47,220	$47,315	33%
43	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$47,400	$47,164	38%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$46,030	$47,356	41%
45	NevadaState	0.99	$46,910	$46,816	37%
46	PennsylvaniaState	0.99	$45,450	$46,856	34%
47	DelawareState	0.97	$46,220	$45,762	35%
48	WashingtonState	0.97	$49,220	$45,871	46%
49	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$48,320	$45,671	42%
50	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$49,620	$46,030	43%
51	IdahoState	0.96	$43,950	$45,544	33%
52	IllinoisState	0.96	$43,960	$45,133	36%
53	West VirginiaState	0.96	$38,120	$45,273	26%
54	ColoradoState	0.95	$47,310	$44,886	47%
55	KansasState	0.94	$40,140	$44,600	31%
56	MarylandState	0.94	$48,700	$44,597	41%
57	MichiganState	0.94	$41,180	$44,615	33%
58	MissouriState	0.93	$38,750	$43,736	32%
59	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.93	$40,930	$44,106	38%
60	IndianaState	0.92	$39,370	$43,503	32%
61	MississippiState	0.92	$36,680	$43,255	29%
62	NebraskaState	0.92	$39,830	$43,530	31%
63	OklahomaState	0.91	$37,940	$42,870	31%
64	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$48,960	$42,835	54%
65	AlabamaState	0.90	$36,880	$42,342	31%
66	New MexicoState	0.90	$39,090	$42,489	32%
67	WyomingState	0.89	$39,100	$42,043	30%
68	UtahState	0.88	$41,780	$41,697	43%
69	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$38,090	$41,402	41%
70	TexasState	0.86	$38,720	$40,502	43%
71	LouisianaState	0.85	$36,360	$40,355	35%

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