Best Cities for Physicians, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physicians, 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	North DakotaState	1.85	$454,550	$490,875	3%
2	MontanaState	1.71	$438,850	$455,239	3%
3	WisconsinState	1.60	$391,740	$424,420	3%
4	MaineState	1.58	$419,410	$420,251	4%
5	IndianaState	1.52	$366,190	$404,630	3%
6	LouisianaState	1.46	$350,920	$389,478	4%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.43	$378,730	$380,633	5%
8	MinnesotaState	1.41	$367,320	$374,816	4%
9	KentuckyState	1.39	$327,390	$369,932	4%
10	WyomingState	1.39	$342,800	$368,602	3%
11	New MexicoState	1.34	$327,670	$356,163	4%
12	AlaskaState	1.28	$355,100	$340,460	5%
13	New HampshireState	1.28	$361,300	$340,849	5%
14	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.28	$327,040	$341,378	6%
15	OregonState	1.27	$347,180	$337,068	6%
16	VermontState	1.26	$343,050	$334,683	5%
17	IowaState	1.24	$295,190	$330,930	4%
18	OhioState	1.24	$297,440	$329,027	4%
19	TennesseeState	1.24	$301,290	$329,279	5%
20	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.21	$296,910	$322,728	5%
21	NebraskaState	1.19	$290,470	$317,454	4%
22	AlabamaState	1.18	$272,610	$312,985	4%
23	IdahoState	1.17	$299,340	$310,197	5%
24	ArizonaState	1.16	$312,490	$309,703	6%
25	HawaiiState	1.16	$339,290	$308,445	8%
26	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.16	$295,640	$307,318	6%
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.16	$333,860	$309,703	6%
28	West VirginiaState	1.15	$258,020	$306,437	4%
29	South CarolinaState	1.12	$274,480	$298,348	5%
30	DelawareState	1.11	$297,470	$294,525	5%
31	OklahomaState	1.10	$259,220	$292,904	4%
32	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.10	$287,200	$291,574	7%
33	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.09	$330,560	$289,204	8%
34	WashingtonState	1.08	$307,170	$286,272	7%
35	GeorgiaState	1.07	$266,880	$285,739	6%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$275,080	$284,174	7%
37	ColoradoState	1.06	$298,320	$283,036	7%
38	TexasState	1.06	$269,800	$282,218	6%
39	North CarolinaState	1.04	$260,330	$275,773	6%
40	MississippiState	1.01	$228,130	$269,021	5%
41	VirginiaState	1.01	$278,530	$269,111	7%
42	New JerseyState	0.99	$285,010	$261,958	8%
43	FloridaState	0.97	$262,180	$258,305	8%
44	MissouriState	0.97	$227,980	$257,314	5%
45	CaliforniaState	0.96	$281,590	$254,372	10%
46	NevadaState	0.95	$252,120	$251,617	7%
47	KansasState	0.93	$221,540	$246,156	6%
48	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.89	$245,810	$237,498	8%
49	Rhode IslandState	0.86	$228,590	$227,453	8%
50	UtahState	0.86	$228,060	$227,605	8%
51	Columbus, OHMetro	0.86	$214,760	$229,690	7%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.86	$222,410	$228,817	9%
53	PennsylvaniaState	0.84	$217,310	$224,031	7%
54	MassachusettsState	0.82	$236,580	$218,046	11%
55	New YorkState	0.81	$242,500	$215,556	9%
56	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$232,960	$214,710	11%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.78	$218,770	$206,777	9%
58	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.76	$229,870	$202,529	13%
59	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.76	$187,680	$202,897	8%
60	ConnecticutState	0.75	$214,990	$199,805	9%
61	MarylandState	0.73	$212,080	$194,212	10%
62	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.70	$208,710	$185,027	11%
63	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.64	$196,760	$168,893	14%
64	MichiganState	0.63	$155,480	$168,451	9%
65	ArkansasState	0.60	$136,880	$158,610	8%
66	IllinoisState	0.51	$132,540	$136,078	12%
67	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.51	$126,260	$136,056	12%
68	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.31	$98,870	$82,255	38%
69	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.28	$68,220	$74,803	21%
70	District of ColumbiaState	0.25	$77,430	$67,743	33%

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