Best Cities for Physical Therapist Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physical therapist assistantss 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 Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.22	$76,830	$83,511	20%
2	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.21	$80,370	$82,685	24%
3	TexasState	1.19	$78,000	$81,590	21%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.18	$97,190	$80,857	39%
5	GeorgiaState	1.14	$72,800	$77,944	23%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.13	$74,730	$77,200	26%
7	South CarolinaState	1.12	$70,500	$76,630	21%
8	CaliforniaState	1.10	$83,110	$75,077	33%
9	NevadaState	1.10	$75,520	$75,369	23%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$79,250	$74,905	25%
11	AlaskaState	1.09	$77,640	$74,439	21%
12	ArkansasState	1.09	$64,520	$74,762	16%
13	Columbus, OHMetro	1.09	$69,480	$74,310	22%
14	DelawareState	1.08	$74,610	$73,871	22%
15	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.08	$70,720	$73,820	25%
16	MassachusettsState	1.07	$79,460	$73,235	34%
17	MississippiState	1.07	$61,770	$72,842	17%
18	LouisianaState	1.06	$65,370	$72,553	19%
19	FloridaState	1.05	$72,530	$71,458	28%
20	IndianaState	1.05	$65,280	$72,133	19%
21	KansasState	1.05	$64,500	$71,667	19%
22	MissouriState	1.05	$63,770	$71,975	19%
23	New JerseyState	1.05	$78,440	$72,096	28%
24	North CarolinaState	1.05	$67,540	$71,547	23%
25	West VirginiaState	1.05	$60,430	$71,770	17%
26	MarylandState	1.04	$77,670	$71,126	26%
27	OregonState	1.04	$73,180	$71,049	26%
28	VirginiaState	1.04	$73,760	$71,266	26%
29	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$80,430	$70,863	38%
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$70,170	$71,239	29%
31	AlabamaState	1.03	$61,430	$70,528	19%
32	ConnecticutState	1.03	$75,880	$70,520	25%
33	OhioState	1.03	$63,820	$70,597	20%
34	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$65,580	$70,668	24%
35	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$82,140	$70,506	33%
36	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.03	$69,790	$70,141	25%
37	KentuckyState	1.02	$61,480	$69,469	19%
38	VermontState	1.02	$71,600	$69,854	24%
39	WisconsinState	1.02	$64,080	$69,426	20%
40	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$78,790	$69,849	30%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$71,540	$69,121	27%
42	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$74,690	$69,286	29%
43	IowaState	1.00	$61,030	$68,419	19%
44	MinnesotaState	1.00	$66,770	$68,133	23%
45	North DakotaState	1.00	$63,520	$68,596	18%
46	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$68,640	$68,299	26%
47	TennesseeState	1.00	$62,500	$68,306	24%
48	WyomingState	1.00	$63,550	$68,333	19%
49	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$62,220	$68,224	23%
50	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$65,650	$68,243	28%
51	New HampshireState	0.99	$71,440	$67,396	27%
52	New MexicoState	0.99	$62,280	$67,696	20%
53	IllinoisState	0.98	$65,240	$66,982	24%
54	MichiganState	0.98	$61,670	$66,815	22%
55	NebraskaState	0.98	$61,370	$67,071	20%
56	OklahomaState	0.98	$59,480	$67,209	20%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.98	$72,530	$66,848	34%
58	MaineState	0.97	$66,250	$66,383	23%
59	MontanaState	0.95	$62,650	$64,990	22%
60	ArizonaState	0.94	$64,650	$64,073	28%
61	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$62,580	$64,515	25%
62	IdahoState	0.92	$61,020	$63,233	24%
63	WashingtonState	0.91	$66,450	$61,929	34%
64	ColoradoState	0.90	$64,810	$61,490	34%
65	HawaiiState	0.90	$67,510	$61,373	42%
66	UtahState	0.90	$61,980	$61,856	29%
67	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.89	$56,020	$60,562	25%
68	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.84	$65,450	$57,262	40%
69	New YorkState	0.83	$64,100	$56,978	35%
70	District of ColumbiaState	0.81	$63,400	$55,468	40%
71	South DakotaState	0.79	$49,310	$54,306	23%

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