Best Cities for Psychiatric Aidess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where psychiatric aidess 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	MinnesotaState	1.25	$55,040	$56,163	28%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$51,610	$51,869	34%
3	NevadaState	1.14	$51,400	$51,297	34%
4	OklahomaState	1.13	$44,960	$50,802	26%
5	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$51,100	$50,846	35%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$47,160	$50,439	33%
7	IllinoisState	1.11	$48,670	$49,969	32%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$45,410	$49,792	32%
9	IndianaState	1.10	$44,860	$49,569	28%
10	MichiganState	1.10	$45,800	$49,621	29%
11	WashingtonState	1.09	$52,570	$48,993	43%
12	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.09	$47,780	$49,156	40%
13	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.08	$51,440	$48,620	39%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$44,920	$48,562	31%
15	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$58,550	$48,710	64%
16	MontanaState	1.07	$46,340	$48,071	29%
17	HawaiiState	1.06	$52,310	$47,555	55%
18	AlaskaState	1.05	$49,300	$47,267	33%
19	MarylandState	1.05	$51,440	$47,106	39%
20	MaineState	1.04	$46,720	$46,814	33%
21	OregonState	1.04	$48,300	$46,893	40%
22	VermontState	1.04	$47,860	$46,693	36%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$48,560	$46,918	39%
24	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$44,790	$46,175	35%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.02	$52,570	$45,993	50%
26	MissouriState	1.00	$39,840	$44,966	31%
27	West VirginiaState	1.00	$37,910	$45,024	27%
28	New YorkState	0.99	$50,220	$44,640	44%
29	TexasState	0.99	$42,560	$44,519	39%
30	IowaState	0.98	$39,260	$44,013	29%
31	ColoradoState	0.97	$46,130	$43,767	48%
32	KentuckyState	0.97	$38,610	$43,627	30%
33	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$41,780	$43,612	43%
34	CaliforniaState	0.96	$47,500	$42,909	57%
35	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$39,950	$43,050	39%
36	KansasState	0.95	$38,390	$42,656	32%
37	OhioState	0.95	$38,480	$42,566	33%
38	ArkansasState	0.94	$36,270	$42,028	29%
39	New JerseyState	0.94	$45,780	$42,077	47%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$48,100	$42,379	64%
41	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$45,660	$42,356	47%
42	MassachusettsState	0.93	$45,300	$41,751	60%
43	ConnecticutState	0.92	$44,660	$41,506	42%
44	North CarolinaState	0.91	$38,400	$40,678	41%
45	UtahState	0.91	$40,810	$40,729	44%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$39,080	$40,372	50%
47	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$47,050	$40,386	58%
48	GeorgiaState	0.88	$36,790	$39,390	46%
49	South CarolinaState	0.88	$36,320	$39,478	41%
50	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.86	$43,770	$38,803	55%
51	FloridaState	0.83	$37,930	$37,369	54%
52	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.81	$39,290	$36,212	62%
53	MississippiState	0.80	$30,510	$35,979	35%
54	VirginiaState	0.80	$37,280	$36,019	51%
55	LouisianaState	0.74	$30,030	$33,330	42%
56	AlabamaState	0.69	$27,150	$31,171	42%

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