Best Cities for Physician Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physician 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.37	$223,640	$186,057	17%
2	OklahomaState	1.14	$136,550	$154,294	9%
3	WashingtonState	1.13	$164,360	$153,178	14%
4	MissouriState	1.12	$135,130	$152,517	9%
5	New JerseyState	1.12	$165,690	$152,289	13%
6	New MexicoState	1.12	$139,920	$152,087	9%
7	West VirginiaState	1.12	$128,610	$152,743	8%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.12	$163,810	$151,957	13%
9	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.12	$140,160	$152,348	11%
10	IowaState	1.11	$134,770	$151,087	8%
11	OregonState	1.11	$155,780	$151,243	12%
12	CaliforniaState	1.10	$165,650	$149,639	16%
13	HawaiiState	1.10	$164,050	$149,136	17%
14	MontanaState	1.08	$141,470	$146,753	10%
15	OhioState	1.08	$132,090	$146,117	9%
16	South DakotaState	1.08	$133,200	$146,696	9%
17	VermontState	1.08	$150,490	$146,820	11%
18	WyomingState	1.08	$136,080	$146,323	9%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$137,550	$147,112	11%
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$167,290	$146,360	16%
21	IndianaState	1.07	$132,050	$145,912	10%
22	NebraskaState	1.07	$133,040	$145,399	9%
23	WisconsinState	1.07	$133,950	$145,125	10%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$145,030	$145,759	12%
25	AlaskaState	1.06	$150,700	$144,487	11%
26	MinnesotaState	1.06	$141,190	$144,071	11%
27	North DakotaState	1.06	$133,450	$144,114	9%
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$131,830	$144,550	11%
29	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.06	$133,350	$143,696	12%
30	LouisianaState	1.05	$128,870	$143,030	10%
31	MichiganState	1.05	$131,510	$142,481	10%
32	New HampshireState	1.05	$150,960	$142,415	13%
33	New YorkState	1.05	$160,880	$143,004	14%
34	TexasState	1.04	$134,550	$140,743	12%
35	KansasState	1.03	$125,640	$139,600	10%
36	DelawareState	1.02	$139,350	$137,970	12%
37	IdahoState	1.02	$133,790	$138,642	11%
38	Rhode IslandState	1.02	$139,930	$139,234	13%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$133,140	$138,977	14%
40	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.02	$134,900	$138,786	14%
41	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.02	$161,890	$138,961	17%
42	ArkansasState	1.01	$118,430	$137,231	9%
43	North CarolinaState	1.01	$129,360	$137,034	12%
44	IllinoisState	1.00	$131,950	$135,472	12%
45	KentuckyState	1.00	$120,760	$136,452	10%
46	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$125,230	$135,384	11%
47	NevadaState	0.99	$134,660	$134,391	13%
48	UtahState	0.99	$134,740	$134,471	13%
49	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$129,050	$134,148	14%
50	ArizonaState	0.98	$134,650	$133,449	13%
51	South CarolinaState	0.98	$122,490	$133,141	12%
52	MaineState	0.97	$131,170	$131,433	12%
53	MassachusettsState	0.97	$142,410	$131,253	19%
54	VirginiaState	0.97	$135,940	$131,343	14%
55	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$138,790	$131,181	15%
56	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.97	$148,200	$131,383	16%
57	ConnecticutState	0.96	$139,860	$129,981	13%
58	PennsylvaniaState	0.96	$127,070	$131,000	12%
59	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$135,640	$131,053	14%
60	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$127,820	$129,766	16%
61	TennesseeState	0.95	$118,240	$129,224	13%
62	ColoradoState	0.94	$134,540	$127,647	16%
63	FloridaState	0.94	$129,620	$127,704	16%
64	MarylandState	0.93	$137,560	$125,971	15%
65	MississippiState	0.92	$105,920	$124,906	10%
66	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$142,410	$125,471	22%
67	GeorgiaState	0.91	$115,390	$123,544	15%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$132,360	$121,991	18%
69	AlabamaState	0.89	$104,960	$120,505	11%
70	District of ColumbiaState	0.87	$135,140	$118,233	19%
71	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.85	$111,810	$115,506	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).