Best Cities for Pediatricians, Generals

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pediatricians, generals 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	LouisianaState	2.66	$502,720	$557,958	3%
2	IdahoState	1.47	$297,680	$308,477	5%
3	IowaState	1.40	$262,440	$294,215	4%
4	WisconsinState	1.39	$269,790	$292,297	5%
5	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.39	$271,410	$292,468	6%
6	MontanaState	1.35	$273,260	$283,465	5%
7	South DakotaState	1.35	$257,610	$283,711	4%
8	OklahomaState	1.27	$236,780	$267,548	5%
9	New HampshireState	1.23	$273,410	$257,934	7%
10	AlaskaState	1.22	$267,390	$256,366	6%
11	North DakotaState	1.21	$234,950	$253,726	5%
12	MissouriState	1.20	$223,910	$252,720	6%
13	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.19	$242,160	$249,136	8%
14	MaineState	1.17	$245,920	$246,413	6%
15	AlabamaState	1.15	$209,490	$240,517	5%
16	OhioState	1.15	$217,970	$241,117	6%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$218,000	$239,035	7%
18	South CarolinaState	1.12	$217,120	$236,000	7%
19	KansasState	1.11	$209,840	$233,156	6%
20	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$226,440	$233,443	7%
21	ArizonaState	1.10	$233,950	$231,863	8%
22	MinnesotaState	1.10	$226,660	$231,286	7%
23	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.10	$212,640	$231,130	7%
24	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$217,670	$227,213	8%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$226,280	$227,417	8%
26	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$208,050	$224,919	7%
27	MichiganState	1.06	$204,690	$221,766	7%
28	New MexicoState	1.05	$202,390	$219,989	6%
29	OregonState	1.04	$224,690	$218,146	9%
30	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$226,440	$218,783	8%
31	DelawareState	1.03	$219,190	$217,020	7%
32	MississippiState	1.03	$183,650	$216,568	6%
33	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$218,080	$216,995	8%
34	UtahState	1.00	$210,360	$209,940	9%
35	VermontState	1.00	$215,350	$210,098	8%
36	MassachusettsState	0.97	$221,170	$203,843	12%
37	ConnecticutState	0.96	$216,830	$201,515	9%
38	IllinoisState	0.96	$196,760	$202,012	8%
39	KentuckyState	0.95	$175,690	$198,520	7%
40	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$212,660	$197,273	10%
41	IndianaState	0.93	$177,300	$195,912	7%
42	North CarolinaState	0.93	$183,550	$194,439	9%
43	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$221,170	$194,863	14%
44	CaliforniaState	0.92	$214,140	$193,442	13%
45	NebraskaState	0.92	$175,990	$192,339	7%
46	TennesseeState	0.92	$176,210	$192,579	9%
47	New YorkState	0.90	$212,150	$188,578	10%
48	VirginiaState	0.90	$195,940	$189,314	10%
49	West VirginiaState	0.90	$158,470	$188,207	6%
50	ArkansasState	0.89	$160,440	$185,910	7%
51	ColoradoState	0.89	$196,440	$186,376	11%
52	New JerseyState	0.88	$201,560	$185,257	11%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$182,680	$185,462	11%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$176,210	$183,170	11%
55	TexasState	0.86	$173,360	$181,339	10%
56	FloridaState	0.85	$182,010	$179,320	11%
57	HawaiiState	0.85	$197,090	$179,173	15%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$186,620	$172,000	13%
59	MarylandState	0.79	$181,640	$166,337	11%
60	GeorgiaState	0.76	$149,990	$160,589	11%
61	WashingtonState	0.75	$169,540	$158,006	13%
62	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.74	$149,990	$154,948	13%
63	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.73	$172,520	$152,943	14%
64	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.72	$160,160	$151,380	13%
65	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.72	$176,900	$151,845	15%
66	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.69	$165,350	$144,663	16%
67	District of ColumbiaState	0.33	$79,240	$69,326	32%

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