Best Cities for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondarys 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	MaineState	1.28	$102,760	$102,966	15%
2	VermontState	1.25	$102,600	$100,098	17%
3	MichiganState	1.21	$89,610	$97,086	15%
4	CaliforniaState	1.19	$105,820	$95,592	26%
5	UtahState	1.19	$95,410	$95,220	19%
6	ConnecticutState	1.16	$100,360	$93,271	19%
7	HawaiiState	1.14	$101,010	$91,827	28%
8	New JerseyState	1.14	$99,450	$91,406	22%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$83,620	$91,689	17%
10	MassachusettsState	1.13	$98,360	$90,654	28%
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$100,770	$88,784	30%
12	IndianaState	1.10	$79,740	$88,110	16%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.10	$103,320	$88,687	26%
14	IowaState	1.08	$77,180	$86,525	15%
15	ArkansasState	1.07	$74,100	$85,863	14%
16	WisconsinState	1.07	$79,140	$85,742	16%
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$82,960	$85,702	23%
18	LouisianaState	1.06	$76,310	$84,695	16%
19	MissouriState	1.06	$75,280	$84,966	16%
20	OhioState	1.06	$77,010	$85,188	16%
21	South CarolinaState	1.05	$77,230	$83,946	20%
22	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$78,140	$83,572	20%
23	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$100,140	$83,311	38%
24	GeorgiaState	1.03	$77,570	$83,051	22%
25	NebraskaState	1.03	$75,280	$82,273	17%
26	OregonState	1.03	$85,300	$82,816	22%
27	VirginiaState	1.03	$85,310	$82,425	22%
28	New YorkState	1.02	$92,050	$81,822	24%
29	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$82,510	$82,100	22%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$75,490	$82,054	21%
31	MinnesotaState	1.01	$79,720	$81,347	19%
32	North CarolinaState	1.01	$76,340	$80,869	20%
33	TennesseeState	1.01	$74,090	$80,973	20%
34	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$80,560	$80,965	22%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$77,910	$80,988	24%
36	TexasState	1.00	$76,700	$80,230	22%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$74,330	$80,357	19%
38	IllinoisState	0.99	$77,720	$79,795	20%
39	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.99	$85,300	$79,128	25%
40	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$76,600	$78,969	20%
41	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$76,730	$78,940	25%
42	ArizonaState	0.97	$78,940	$78,236	23%
43	New HampshireState	0.97	$82,820	$78,132	23%
44	North DakotaState	0.96	$71,360	$77,063	16%
45	WashingtonState	0.94	$81,240	$75,713	28%
46	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$77,870	$75,237	25%
47	MississippiState	0.93	$63,560	$74,953	17%
48	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$78,730	$74,414	26%
49	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$85,550	$74,847	31%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$73,670	$74,792	28%
51	ColoradoState	0.92	$78,060	$74,061	28%
52	KentuckyState	0.92	$65,580	$74,102	18%
53	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$70,840	$73,946	25%
54	KansasState	0.91	$65,410	$72,678	19%
55	OklahomaState	0.91	$64,840	$73,266	18%
56	AlabamaState	0.89	$62,210	$71,424	18%
57	MarylandState	0.89	$78,360	$71,758	26%
58	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$79,310	$70,310	30%
59	District of ColumbiaState	0.86	$79,310	$69,388	32%
60	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.82	$61,040	$65,776	25%
61	South DakotaState	0.80	$58,000	$63,877	20%
62	FloridaState	0.78	$63,330	$62,394	33%
63	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.73	$63,330	$58,369	39%

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