Best Cities for Physical Therapist Aidess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physical therapist aidess 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	AlaskaState	1.52	$55,760	$53,461	29%
2	MinnesotaState	1.23	$42,330	$43,194	36%
3	Columbus, OHMetro	1.21	$39,990	$42,770	39%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.20	$42,230	$42,442	42%
5	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.19	$38,740	$41,881	36%
6	OhioState	1.17	$37,220	$41,173	34%
7	West VirginiaState	1.17	$34,840	$41,378	29%
8	MontanaState	1.15	$38,950	$40,405	35%
9	North DakotaState	1.15	$37,680	$40,691	31%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.15	$46,460	$40,647	57%
11	KentuckyState	1.14	$35,490	$40,102	32%
12	ColoradoState	1.13	$41,970	$39,820	53%
13	MaineState	1.13	$39,660	$39,739	39%
14	WisconsinState	1.13	$36,820	$39,892	35%
15	IndianaState	1.10	$35,100	$38,785	36%
16	New HampshireState	1.08	$40,460	$38,170	47%
17	IllinoisState	1.07	$36,650	$37,628	43%
18	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$35,410	$36,962	51%
19	North CarolinaState	1.04	$34,760	$36,822	45%
20	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$35,520	$36,619	44%
21	WashingtonState	1.04	$39,500	$36,813	58%
22	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.04	$35,570	$36,595	53%
23	South CarolinaState	1.03	$33,280	$36,174	45%
24	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.03	$35,780	$36,325	58%
25	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.02	$43,300	$36,023	87%
26	ArizonaState	0.99	$35,260	$34,945	51%
27	New MexicoState	0.99	$31,990	$34,772	39%
28	OregonState	0.99	$36,060	$35,010	53%
29	CaliforniaState	0.98	$38,330	$34,625	71%
30	FloridaState	0.98	$35,140	$34,621	59%
31	MassachusettsState	0.98	$37,440	$34,507	72%
32	South DakotaState	0.98	$31,330	$34,504	37%
33	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$33,570	$34,680	58%
34	ArkansasState	0.97	$29,450	$34,125	36%
35	District of ColumbiaState	0.97	$38,950	$34,077	65%
36	DelawareState	0.96	$34,060	$33,723	48%
37	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$36,200	$33,581	59%
38	ConnecticutState	0.94	$35,770	$33,243	53%
39	MissouriState	0.94	$29,250	$33,014	42%
40	TennesseeState	0.94	$30,320	$33,137	50%
41	TexasState	0.94	$31,590	$33,044	53%
42	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$35,180	$33,251	57%
43	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$37,440	$32,987	82%
44	GeorgiaState	0.93	$30,550	$32,709	56%
45	IowaState	0.93	$29,120	$32,646	39%
46	WyomingState	0.93	$30,470	$32,763	39%
47	MississippiState	0.92	$27,370	$32,276	39%
48	VirginiaState	0.92	$33,390	$32,261	57%
49	NevadaState	0.91	$31,970	$31,906	55%
50	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$37,280	$32,000	73%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.91	$30,900	$32,121	60%
52	MarylandState	0.90	$34,780	$31,850	58%
53	MichiganState	0.90	$29,350	$31,798	46%
54	New JerseyState	0.90	$34,430	$31,645	63%
55	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$34,270	$31,585	71%
56	AlabamaState	0.89	$27,290	$31,332	42%
57	New YorkState	0.89	$35,380	$31,449	63%
58	OklahomaState	0.89	$27,630	$31,220	42%
59	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.89	$28,570	$31,327	51%
60	Rhode IslandState	0.88	$31,200	$31,045	58%
61	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.88	$32,240	$31,150	59%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$28,410	$30,880	55%
63	HawaiiState	0.87	$33,810	$30,736	85%
64	NebraskaState	0.87	$28,080	$30,689	45%
65	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.87	$34,780	$30,833	69%
66	IdahoState	0.84	$28,660	$29,699	50%
67	UtahState	0.83	$29,150	$29,092	61%
68	KansasState	0.80	$25,280	$28,089	49%
69	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.77	$25,280	$27,241	61%
70	LouisianaState	0.71	$22,460	$24,928	56%

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