Best Cities for Pharmacistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where pharmacistss 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$199,040	$165,591	19%
2	MinnesotaState	1.16	$159,740	$163,000	10%
3	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.16	$150,500	$163,587	10%
4	South DakotaState	1.15	$146,790	$161,663	8%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$160,990	$161,799	11%
6	AlaskaState	1.14	$167,310	$160,412	10%
7	OregonState	1.14	$165,960	$161,126	12%
8	WisconsinState	1.14	$148,740	$161,148	9%
9	IndianaState	1.13	$144,290	$159,436	9%
10	New MexicoState	1.13	$147,000	$159,783	9%
11	ArkansasState	1.12	$136,060	$157,659	8%
12	West VirginiaState	1.12	$133,430	$158,468	8%
13	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.12	$150,580	$157,182	12%
14	MississippiState	1.11	$133,230	$157,111	8%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$168,830	$156,614	13%
16	AlabamaState	1.10	$134,630	$154,569	9%
17	IowaState	1.10	$138,860	$155,673	8%
18	MissouriState	1.10	$137,610	$155,316	9%
19	KansasState	1.09	$137,800	$153,111	9%
20	KentuckyState	1.09	$136,530	$154,271	8%
21	North DakotaState	1.09	$142,040	$153,391	8%
22	NebraskaState	1.08	$139,330	$152,273	9%
23	OhioState	1.08	$137,020	$151,571	9%
24	OklahomaState	1.08	$135,140	$152,701	9%
25	DelawareState	1.07	$152,880	$151,366	11%
26	IdahoState	1.07	$144,900	$150,155	10%
27	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$137,770	$151,064	11%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$139,460	$150,280	11%
29	CaliforniaState	1.06	$164,610	$148,699	17%
30	MichiganState	1.06	$137,860	$149,361	10%
31	WashingtonState	1.06	$160,610	$149,683	14%
32	WyomingState	1.06	$139,550	$150,054	8%
33	ColoradoState	1.05	$156,030	$148,036	14%
34	HawaiiState	1.05	$163,220	$148,382	18%
35	MontanaState	1.05	$142,080	$147,386	10%
36	South CarolinaState	1.05	$135,700	$147,500	11%
37	GeorgiaState	1.04	$137,120	$146,809	12%
38	LouisianaState	1.04	$132,410	$146,959	9%
39	North CarolinaState	1.04	$138,860	$147,097	11%
40	ArizonaState	1.03	$146,930	$145,619	12%
41	TennesseeState	1.03	$133,390	$145,781	11%
42	TexasState	1.03	$138,260	$144,623	12%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.03	$139,870	$144,494	14%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$134,180	$145,059	11%
45	UtahState	1.02	$144,240	$143,952	12%
46	Columbus, OHMetro	1.02	$133,960	$143,273	12%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$137,590	$143,025	14%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$148,740	$143,710	13%
49	IllinoisState	1.01	$139,080	$142,793	11%
50	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$138,160	$142,433	11%
51	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$138,170	$142,150	14%
52	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.01	$162,870	$142,493	16%
53	MaineState	1.00	$140,930	$141,212	11%
54	NevadaState	0.99	$140,030	$139,750	12%
55	VirginiaState	0.99	$144,060	$139,188	13%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$137,990	$140,091	15%
57	New HampshireState	0.96	$143,020	$134,925	13%
58	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$157,440	$135,142	17%
59	District of ColumbiaState	0.95	$153,400	$134,208	16%
60	FloridaState	0.95	$135,970	$133,961	15%
61	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$150,540	$133,457	16%
62	VermontState	0.94	$136,270	$132,946	13%
63	ConnecticutState	0.93	$141,290	$131,310	13%
64	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$138,110	$130,539	15%
65	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$128,180	$127,542	14%
66	MarylandState	0.90	$138,990	$127,280	14%
67	MassachusettsState	0.90	$138,170	$127,346	20%
68	New JerseyState	0.90	$137,620	$126,489	16%
69	New YorkState	0.90	$142,090	$126,302	16%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$135,210	$124,618	18%
71	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$139,660	$123,048	22%

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