Best Cities for Paramedicss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where paramedicss 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.78	$123,310	$107,883	21%
2	WashingtonState	1.60	$104,310	$97,213	22%
3	New JerseyState	1.31	$86,630	$79,623	25%
4	MinnesotaState	1.28	$76,300	$77,857	20%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.28	$77,430	$77,819	23%
6	HawaiiState	1.22	$81,280	$73,891	35%
7	OregonState	1.20	$74,840	$72,660	26%
8	ConnecticutState	1.19	$77,480	$72,007	24%
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.16	$84,480	$70,283	45%
10	AlaskaState	1.14	$71,860	$68,897	23%
11	WyomingState	1.14	$64,040	$68,860	18%
12	District of ColumbiaState	1.13	$78,550	$68,723	32%
13	IowaState	1.12	$60,590	$67,926	19%
14	CaliforniaState	1.11	$74,590	$67,380	36%
15	North DakotaState	1.11	$62,320	$67,300	19%
16	IndianaState	1.10	$60,320	$66,652	21%
17	MissouriState	1.10	$59,180	$66,795	21%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.10	$61,900	$66,919	23%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.10	$75,190	$66,658	32%
20	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.09	$63,450	$65,956	29%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$68,640	$66,319	28%
22	UtahState	1.08	$65,420	$65,289	27%
23	New YorkState	1.07	$73,200	$65,067	30%
24	WisconsinState	1.07	$59,710	$64,691	22%
25	MississippiState	1.06	$54,630	$64,422	20%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$61,940	$63,988	31%
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$61,660	$64,363	29%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$59,520	$64,138	26%
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$74,900	$64,292	36%
30	DelawareState	1.05	$64,240	$63,604	25%
31	MaineState	1.04	$63,050	$63,176	25%
32	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$61,000	$62,887	25%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$63,550	$63,234	28%
34	TennesseeState	1.04	$57,690	$63,049	26%
35	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$57,410	$62,950	25%
36	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.04	$68,160	$62,820	36%
37	IdahoState	1.03	$60,380	$62,570	24%
38	IllinoisState	1.03	$60,660	$62,279	26%
39	LouisianaState	1.03	$56,050	$62,209	22%
40	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$66,330	$62,694	30%
41	GeorgiaState	1.02	$57,660	$61,734	29%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$60,300	$62,037	32%
43	MarylandState	1.01	$66,660	$61,044	30%
44	MassachusettsState	1.01	$66,340	$61,143	41%
45	NebraskaState	1.01	$56,230	$61,454	22%
46	ColoradoState	1.00	$63,910	$60,636	35%
47	New HampshireState	1.00	$64,210	$60,575	30%
48	New MexicoState	1.00	$55,530	$60,359	23%
49	North CarolinaState	1.00	$57,320	$60,720	27%
50	TexasState	0.99	$57,500	$60,146	29%
51	FloridaState	0.98	$60,140	$59,251	34%
52	NevadaState	0.98	$59,280	$59,162	29%
53	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$54,700	$59,457	29%
54	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$58,560	$59,452	35%
55	VermontState	0.97	$60,360	$58,888	28%
56	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.97	$66,460	$58,555	46%
57	ArizonaState	0.96	$58,600	$58,077	31%
58	ArkansasState	0.96	$50,310	$58,297	21%
59	South CarolinaState	0.96	$53,550	$58,207	28%
60	VirginiaState	0.96	$60,480	$58,435	31%
61	West VirginiaState	0.95	$48,460	$57,553	21%
62	KansasState	0.94	$51,020	$56,689	24%
63	OhioState	0.94	$51,300	$56,748	24%
64	KentuckyState	0.93	$49,890	$56,373	23%
65	MichiganState	0.93	$52,080	$56,425	26%
66	AlabamaState	0.92	$48,540	$55,729	24%
67	South DakotaState	0.89	$48,830	$53,778	24%
68	MontanaState	0.87	$50,890	$52,790	27%
69	OklahomaState	0.87	$46,790	$52,870	25%
70	Columbus, OHMetro	0.83	$47,130	$50,406	33%

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