Best Cities for Physicistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where physicistss 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	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.57	$266,260	$270,315	8%
2	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.46	$272,480	$251,134	9%
3	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.43	$236,920	$246,279	8%
4	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.41	$224,160	$242,335	6%
5	OklahomaState	1.31	$200,050	$226,045	6%
6	FloridaState	1.29	$225,390	$222,059	9%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.27	$199,170	$218,388	7%
8	PennsylvaniaState	1.26	$210,990	$217,515	7%
9	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.23	$194,290	$211,185	8%
10	KentuckyState	1.19	$180,910	$204,418	6%
11	New HampshireState	1.17	$214,030	$201,915	9%
12	IowaState	1.16	$178,110	$199,675	6%
13	OregonState	1.13	$200,320	$194,485	10%
14	TexasState	1.12	$184,040	$192,510	9%
15	CaliforniaState	1.09	$207,490	$187,435	13%
16	WisconsinState	1.09	$173,120	$187,562	8%
17	LouisianaState	1.07	$166,240	$184,506	8%
18	North CarolinaState	1.07	$174,180	$184,513	9%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$170,400	$182,246	9%
20	OhioState	1.05	$162,900	$180,199	8%
21	TennesseeState	1.05	$165,010	$180,339	9%
22	New MexicoState	1.04	$165,340	$179,717	8%
23	MinnesotaState	1.01	$171,220	$174,714	9%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.98	$168,450	$169,296	11%
25	ConnecticutState	0.97	$180,300	$167,565	10%
26	New YorkState	0.94	$181,970	$161,751	12%
27	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$156,750	$161,265	12%
28	AlabamaState	0.93	$139,330	$159,966	8%
29	MarylandState	0.93	$174,390	$159,698	12%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.93	$172,080	$159,629	13%
31	MissouriState	0.92	$140,460	$158,533	9%
32	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.92	$164,850	$159,275	12%
33	ArkansasState	0.91	$135,820	$157,381	8%
34	UtahState	0.91	$156,760	$156,447	11%
35	GeorgiaState	0.90	$144,870	$155,107	12%
36	Rhode IslandState	0.90	$155,150	$154,378	12%
37	MississippiState	0.89	$129,970	$153,267	8%
38	NevadaState	0.89	$154,030	$153,723	11%
39	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.88	$141,200	$152,155	11%
40	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.88	$171,580	$152,110	14%
41	New JerseyState	0.87	$163,270	$150,064	13%
42	South CarolinaState	0.87	$138,400	$150,435	11%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$144,870	$149,659	13%
44	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.84	$173,450	$144,301	22%
45	IllinoisState	0.82	$137,140	$140,801	11%
46	IdahoState	0.81	$135,150	$140,052	11%
47	VirginiaState	0.81	$145,040	$140,135	13%
48	District of ColumbiaState	0.80	$157,040	$137,393	16%
49	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.80	$160,270	$137,571	17%
50	ArizonaState	0.75	$130,500	$129,336	14%
51	WashingtonState	0.73	$134,790	$125,620	17%
52	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.71	$140,370	$122,808	19%
53	IndianaState	0.68	$105,940	$117,061	12%
54	MontanaState	0.63	$103,800	$107,676	13%
55	HawaiiState	0.62	$117,190	$106,536	24%
56	MichiganState	0.59	$94,520	$102,405	14%
57	ColoradoState	0.58	$104,580	$99,222	21%
58	MassachusettsState	0.57	$106,410	$98,074	25%
59	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.54	$106,000	$93,392	29%
60	South DakotaState	0.53	$83,050	$91,465	14%
61	DelawareState	0.47	$82,590	$81,772	20%

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