Best Cities for Political Science Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where political science teachers, postsecondarys 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	MassachusettsState	1.20	$128,150	$118,111	21%
2	New HampshireState	1.19	$124,110	$117,085	15%
3	MichiganState	1.18	$107,060	$115,991	13%
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.18	$131,690	$116,026	23%
5	CaliforniaState	1.15	$124,890	$112,818	22%
6	MontanaState	1.15	$109,050	$113,122	12%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$100,630	$110,340	15%
8	MissouriState	1.09	$94,500	$106,659	13%
9	VermontState	1.07	$107,490	$104,868	16%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$103,370	$103,889	17%
11	IllinoisState	1.05	$100,700	$103,388	16%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.05	$119,590	$102,652	23%
13	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.05	$95,210	$102,930	15%
14	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$101,320	$100,816	18%
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.03	$104,120	$100,599	18%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$97,230	$100,237	16%
17	ArizonaState	1.01	$99,910	$99,019	18%
18	MinnesotaState	1.01	$97,170	$99,153	16%
19	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.01	$118,950	$98,960	32%
20	LouisianaState	1.00	$88,090	$97,769	14%
21	VirginiaState	1.00	$101,430	$98,000	19%
22	MaineState	0.99	$96,760	$96,954	16%
23	MarylandState	0.99	$105,630	$96,731	19%
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$102,430	$96,815	20%
25	NebraskaState	0.96	$86,380	$94,404	15%
26	WashingtonState	0.96	$101,140	$94,259	23%
27	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.96	$107,170	$93,762	25%
28	ConnecticutState	0.95	$100,230	$93,151	19%
29	NevadaState	0.95	$93,300	$93,114	19%
30	IndianaState	0.94	$83,770	$92,564	15%
31	New JerseyState	0.94	$100,260	$92,151	22%
32	New YorkState	0.94	$104,050	$92,489	21%
33	West VirginiaState	0.94	$77,420	$91,948	13%
34	TexasState	0.93	$86,950	$90,952	19%
35	WyomingState	0.93	$84,750	$91,129	14%
36	IowaState	0.92	$80,160	$89,865	14%
37	WisconsinState	0.92	$83,190	$90,130	16%
38	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$86,930	$89,804	22%
39	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$102,310	$90,700	23%
40	AlabamaState	0.91	$77,860	$89,392	15%
41	District of ColumbiaState	0.91	$102,310	$89,510	25%
42	KentuckyState	0.91	$78,670	$88,893	15%
43	TennesseeState	0.91	$81,330	$88,885	19%
44	OhioState	0.90	$80,090	$88,595	16%
45	KansasState	0.89	$78,800	$87,556	16%
46	New MexicoState	0.89	$80,640	$87,652	16%
47	GeorgiaState	0.87	$79,870	$85,514	21%
48	South CarolinaState	0.87	$78,650	$85,489	19%
49	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$80,090	$85,658	19%
50	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$91,670	$84,488	27%
51	North CarolinaState	0.85	$78,760	$83,432	20%
52	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.84	$79,660	$81,955	24%
53	OregonState	0.83	$83,580	$81,146	23%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$77,870	$81,284	23%
55	South DakotaState	0.82	$72,580	$79,934	16%
56	UtahState	0.82	$80,610	$80,449	22%
57	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.79	$71,260	$77,457	22%
58	FloridaState	0.78	$77,860	$76,709	27%
59	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.78	$82,480	$76,512	26%
60	OklahomaState	0.73	$63,400	$71,638	18%
61	MississippiState	0.71	$59,270	$69,894	18%
62	ArkansasState	0.69	$58,350	$67,613	18%

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