Best Cities for Psychology Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where psychology 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	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.36	$99,900	$109,539	15%
2	MichiganState	1.35	$99,900	$108,234	13%
3	North DakotaState	1.31	$97,110	$104,870	12%
4	DelawareState	1.26	$102,340	$101,327	16%
5	LouisianaState	1.26	$91,340	$101,376	14%
6	CaliforniaState	1.21	$107,340	$96,965	25%
7	Rhode IslandState	1.17	$94,360	$93,891	19%
8	MarylandState	1.16	$101,430	$92,885	20%
9	UtahState	1.16	$93,090	$92,904	19%
10	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.15	$97,580	$92,231	21%
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.15	$92,190	$92,653	19%
12	New MexicoState	1.13	$83,600	$90,870	15%
13	New HampshireState	1.12	$95,030	$89,651	20%
14	MissouriState	1.11	$79,240	$89,436	16%
15	New YorkState	1.11	$100,720	$89,529	22%
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.11	$100,980	$89,521	24%
17	District of ColumbiaState	1.10	$101,250	$88,583	25%
18	KansasState	1.10	$79,730	$88,589	16%
19	West VirginiaState	1.10	$74,280	$88,219	14%
20	IowaState	1.09	$78,450	$87,948	15%
21	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.09	$101,980	$87,536	27%
22	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.09	$105,720	$87,953	36%
23	AlabamaState	1.08	$75,340	$86,498	15%
24	OhioState	1.08	$78,530	$86,869	16%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$81,220	$86,866	19%
26	IdahoState	1.07	$83,010	$86,021	17%
27	IndianaState	1.07	$77,820	$85,989	16%
28	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$79,570	$85,744	19%
29	GeorgiaState	1.06	$79,440	$85,054	21%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.06	$82,450	$85,176	24%
31	KentuckyState	1.05	$74,520	$84,203	15%
32	MinnesotaState	1.05	$82,640	$84,327	19%
33	NebraskaState	1.05	$77,340	$84,525	16%
34	WisconsinState	1.05	$77,580	$84,052	17%
35	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$77,380	$84,109	20%
36	TennesseeState	1.03	$76,010	$83,071	20%
37	MaineState	1.02	$81,660	$81,824	19%
38	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.02	$78,210	$81,639	23%
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$78,660	$81,767	24%
40	NevadaState	1.01	$81,300	$81,138	21%
41	South CarolinaState	1.01	$74,890	$81,402	20%
42	IllinoisState	1.00	$77,860	$79,938	20%
43	MontanaState	1.00	$77,120	$80,000	18%
44	TexasState	1.00	$77,060	$80,607	22%
45	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.00	$77,980	$80,226	24%
46	North CarolinaState	0.99	$75,260	$79,725	21%
47	ConnecticutState	0.98	$84,500	$78,532	22%
48	VermontState	0.98	$81,100	$79,122	21%
49	ArizonaState	0.97	$78,610	$77,909	23%
50	OregonState	0.97	$80,060	$77,728	24%
51	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$75,960	$78,309	20%
52	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$72,110	$77,957	20%
53	MassachusettsState	0.95	$82,930	$76,433	33%
54	AlaskaState	0.94	$79,040	$75,781	21%
55	VirginiaState	0.94	$77,950	$75,314	24%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.94	$77,840	$75,208	25%
57	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.94	$81,780	$75,863	26%
58	MississippiState	0.92	$62,590	$73,809	17%
59	New JerseyState	0.92	$80,790	$74,256	27%
60	ColoradoState	0.91	$76,810	$72,875	29%
61	WashingtonState	0.91	$78,330	$73,001	29%
62	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.91	$82,930	$73,066	37%
63	South DakotaState	0.89	$65,020	$71,608	18%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$77,720	$71,631	31%
65	ArkansasState	0.88	$60,730	$70,371	17%
66	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$69,930	$70,995	30%
67	OklahomaState	0.87	$61,720	$69,740	19%
68	WyomingState	0.87	$65,050	$69,946	18%
69	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.86	$79,400	$69,466	33%
70	FloridaState	0.85	$69,050	$68,030	30%

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