Best Cities for Physical Scientists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physical scientists, all others 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	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.45	$176,440	$177,327	10%
2	North DakotaState	1.30	$147,650	$159,449	8%
3	AlabamaState	1.27	$135,350	$155,396	8%
4	South CarolinaState	1.25	$141,130	$153,402	11%
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.24	$170,980	$151,578	14%
6	MinnesotaState	1.23	$147,890	$150,908	10%
7	GeorgiaState	1.20	$137,680	$147,409	12%
8	TennesseeState	1.16	$129,570	$141,607	12%
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.16	$137,680	$142,231	14%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.14	$128,750	$139,189	11%
11	PennsylvaniaState	1.13	$134,780	$138,948	12%
12	District of ColumbiaState	1.12	$156,730	$137,122	16%
13	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.12	$133,590	$137,438	14%
14	New MexicoState	1.10	$123,820	$134,587	10%
15	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$160,580	$133,594	23%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$137,220	$132,580	14%
17	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.07	$120,490	$130,967	13%
18	FloridaState	1.06	$131,690	$129,744	16%
19	MarylandState	1.06	$141,290	$129,386	14%
20	MichiganState	1.05	$118,870	$128,787	11%
21	MississippiState	1.05	$108,890	$128,408	10%
22	ColoradoState	1.04	$134,440	$127,552	16%
23	MassachusettsState	1.04	$138,380	$127,539	20%
24	OklahomaState	1.03	$112,260	$126,847	10%
25	WashingtonState	1.02	$133,980	$124,865	17%
26	ArizonaState	1.01	$125,270	$124,153	14%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$137,050	$120,749	22%
28	OhioState	0.98	$108,790	$120,343	12%
29	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.98	$130,940	$120,682	19%
30	CaliforniaState	0.96	$130,610	$117,986	21%
31	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$134,720	$117,865	20%
32	North CarolinaState	0.95	$110,030	$116,557	14%
33	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.95	$136,160	$116,876	20%
34	AlaskaState	0.94	$120,240	$115,283	14%
35	UtahState	0.94	$115,920	$115,689	15%
36	IllinoisState	0.91	$108,970	$111,879	14%
37	NebraskaState	0.90	$101,440	$110,863	12%
38	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$117,770	$109,249	18%
39	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$106,330	$107,949	19%
40	OregonState	0.87	$109,580	$106,388	17%
41	New HampshireState	0.86	$112,370	$106,009	17%
42	TexasState	0.86	$100,920	$105,565	16%
43	WisconsinState	0.86	$97,470	$105,601	13%
44	LouisianaState	0.85	$94,320	$104,684	13%
45	New YorkState	0.85	$117,820	$104,729	19%
46	HawaiiState	0.84	$112,880	$102,618	25%
47	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.83	$108,160	$102,231	19%
48	New JerseyState	0.82	$109,990	$101,094	20%
49	MontanaState	0.80	$94,520	$98,050	14%
50	ConnecticutState	0.76	$99,990	$92,928	19%
51	KentuckyState	0.75	$81,260	$91,819	14%
52	IowaState	0.74	$80,810	$90,594	14%
53	Columbus, OHMetro	0.68	$78,440	$83,893	20%
54	IndianaState	0.62	$68,670	$75,878	18%
55	WyomingState	0.61	$69,240	$74,452	17%

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