Home / Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric / Best Cities Best Cities for Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatrics Cities ranked by purchasing power — where orthopedic surgeons, except pediatrics 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 Missouri State 2.65 $842,800 $951,242 1% 2 West Virginia State 1.98 $597,740 $709,905 2% 3 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro 1.91 $666,930 $686,142 3% 4 Mississippi State 1.79 $544,130 $641,663 2% 5 Wisconsin State 1.73 $572,060 $619,783 2% 6 Oklahoma State 1.67 $530,070 $598,949 2% 7 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro 1.67 $572,910 $598,027 3% 8 Montana State 1.62 $560,820 $581,763 2% 9 Arizona State 1.55 $558,970 $553,984 3% 10 Nebraska State 1.55 $507,770 $554,940 2% 11 Minnesota State 1.53 $537,830 $548,806 3% 12 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro 1.48 $523,610 $531,584 4% 13 New Hampshire State 1.46 $555,670 $524,217 3% 14 Washington State 1.44 $553,310 $515,666 4% 15 Georgia State 1.42 $474,820 $508,373 4% 16 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro 1.41 $576,130 $504,051 5% 17 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro 1.36 $524,350 $486,410 4% 18 Florida State 1.30 $473,750 $466,749 4% 19 Virginia State 1.29 $478,710 $462,522 4% 20 Michigan State 1.25 $413,450 $447,941 3% 21 Illinois State 1.22 $426,580 $437,967 4% 22 Alabama State 1.04 $324,570 $372,641 4% 23 New York State 1.03 $414,290 $368,258 5% 24 Colorado State 1.02 $385,410 $365,664 6% 25 Pennsylvania State 1.02 $354,020 $364,969 4% 26 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro 1.02 $396,920 $365,825 6% 27 Massachusetts State 1.01 $392,300 $361,567 7% 28 Ohio State 1.00 $323,480 $357,832 4% 29 Tennessee State 0.99 $325,520 $355,760 5% 30 Kansas State 0.97 $311,630 $346,256 4% 31 North Carolina State 0.96 $323,630 $342,828 5% 32 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro 0.96 $392,300 $345,639 8% 33 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro 0.92 $341,810 $330,251 6% 34 New Jersey State 0.88 $341,430 $313,814 6% 35 Arkansas State 0.85 $262,470 $304,137 4% 36 California State 0.64 $253,430 $228,934 11% 37 Iowa State 0.59 $189,410 $212,343 6% 38 Texas State 0.59 $200,780 $210,021 8% 39 Indiana State 0.55 $177,710 $196,365 7% 40 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro 0.49 $203,890 $175,013 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).