Best Cities for Orthodontistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where orthodontistss 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	1.54	$478,680	$444,870	4%
2	ColoradoState	1.37	$416,000	$394,687	5%
3	MichiganState	1.34	$357,090	$386,880	4%
4	MissouriState	1.30	$332,630	$375,429	4%
5	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.30	$361,650	$375,936	5%
6	TennesseeState	1.28	$339,610	$371,158	4%
7	IllinoisState	1.22	$343,100	$352,259	5%
8	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.18	$361,040	$341,248	6%
9	South CarolinaState	1.17	$311,450	$338,533	5%
10	MarylandState	1.14	$361,030	$330,614	6%
11	MontanaState	1.12	$312,840	$324,523	4%
12	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$311,180	$320,804	5%
13	MaineState	1.04	$301,250	$301,854	5%
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$311,180	$300,657	6%
15	AlabamaState	1.01	$253,670	$291,240	5%
16	WashingtonState	0.94	$290,430	$270,671	8%
17	ArizonaState	0.93	$272,330	$269,901	7%
18	OhioState	0.84	$219,300	$242,588	6%
19	North CarolinaState	0.82	$224,990	$238,337	7%
20	WisconsinState	0.80	$212,860	$230,618	6%
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.76	$248,110	$219,956	10%
22	GeorgiaState	0.59	$159,230	$170,482	11%
23	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.57	$159,230	$164,494	12%
24	New YorkState	0.53	$172,980	$153,760	13%

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