Best Cities for Psychologists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where psychologists, 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	KentuckyState	1.53	$149,990	$169,480	8%
2	OklahomaState	1.44	$141,290	$159,650	8%
3	AlabamaState	1.41	$136,070	$156,223	8%
4	IowaState	1.40	$138,420	$155,179	8%
5	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.38	$146,850	$153,288	12%
6	MissouriState	1.37	$134,890	$152,246	9%
7	TennesseeState	1.36	$138,070	$150,896	11%
8	South CarolinaState	1.34	$136,990	$148,902	11%
9	NevadaState	1.32	$146,850	$146,557	12%
10	OhioState	1.32	$132,060	$146,084	9%
11	South DakotaState	1.31	$132,170	$145,562	9%
12	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$175,160	$145,724	22%
13	NebraskaState	1.30	$131,640	$143,869	10%
14	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.30	$133,950	$144,343	12%
15	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.29	$138,070	$143,524	14%
16	CaliforniaState	1.28	$157,540	$142,313	17%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.28	$129,420	$141,908	11%
18	ArizonaState	1.23	$137,510	$136,283	13%
19	IndianaState	1.23	$123,640	$136,619	10%
20	VirginiaState	1.23	$140,640	$135,884	13%
21	Columbus, OHMetro	1.23	$127,090	$135,925	12%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.23	$134,580	$136,629	15%
23	UtahState	1.22	$135,200	$134,930	13%
24	North CarolinaState	1.21	$126,440	$133,941	12%
25	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.21	$145,890	$134,461	17%
26	ArkansasState	1.20	$114,340	$132,491	9%
27	FloridaState	1.20	$134,690	$132,700	15%
28	MontanaState	1.19	$126,960	$131,701	11%
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.19	$153,630	$131,871	18%
30	Rhode IslandState	1.18	$130,960	$130,308	14%
31	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.15	$117,620	$127,848	13%
32	IdahoState	1.13	$121,140	$125,534	12%
33	HawaiiState	1.11	$135,680	$123,345	21%
34	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.11	$122,530	$123,146	14%
35	MississippiState	1.10	$103,380	$121,910	10%
36	New JerseyState	1.10	$132,220	$121,526	16%
37	MassachusettsState	1.08	$129,410	$119,272	21%
38	WashingtonState	1.08	$128,230	$119,506	18%
39	MinnesotaState	1.06	$115,650	$118,010	13%
40	ConnecticutState	1.05	$125,020	$116,190	15%
41	LouisianaState	1.05	$104,460	$115,938	12%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$119,970	$115,913	16%
43	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$129,730	$115,009	18%
44	ColoradoState	1.03	$120,660	$114,478	18%
45	New HampshireState	1.03	$120,790	$113,953	16%
46	New YorkState	1.03	$128,320	$114,062	17%
47	District of ColumbiaState	0.99	$125,110	$109,458	20%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$124,060	$108,539	21%
49	MarylandState	0.91	$109,970	$100,705	18%
50	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$112,900	$99,471	27%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.89	$95,650	$98,608	16%
52	MichiganState	0.87	$88,510	$95,894	15%
53	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.83	$84,740	$91,611	17%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.82	$96,220	$90,945	21%
55	WisconsinState	0.80	$81,860	$88,689	16%
56	OregonState	0.76	$86,680	$84,155	22%
57	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.75	$80,660	$82,984	24%
58	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.73	$86,680	$80,408	25%
59	VermontState	0.71	$81,080	$79,102	21%
60	IllinoisState	0.65	$69,810	$71,674	23%
61	West VirginiaState	0.50	$46,350	$55,048	22%

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