Best Cities for Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where recreation and fitness studies 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	CaliforniaState	1.49	$127,780	$115,429	21%
2	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.42	$101,550	$109,784	14%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.18	$106,660	$91,554	25%
4	MichiganState	1.17	$83,690	$90,672	16%
5	MarylandState	1.16	$97,640	$89,414	21%
6	WyomingState	1.16	$83,260	$89,527	14%
7	WisconsinState	1.13	$80,500	$87,216	16%
8	New MexicoState	1.11	$79,090	$85,967	16%
9	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$83,150	$85,722	19%
10	South CarolinaState	1.11	$78,800	$85,652	19%
11	IowaState	1.09	$75,130	$84,226	15%
12	AlabamaState	1.08	$72,680	$83,444	16%
13	MissouriState	1.07	$73,180	$82,596	17%
14	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$77,270	$82,642	20%
15	MinnesotaState	1.06	$80,410	$82,051	19%
16	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$79,310	$81,595	24%
17	MassachusettsState	1.05	$87,960	$81,069	31%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.05	$83,600	$80,773	23%
19	TennesseeState	1.04	$73,280	$80,087	21%
20	TexasState	1.04	$76,480	$80,000	22%
21	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$80,080	$80,482	22%
22	West VirginiaState	1.02	$66,440	$78,907	15%
23	North CarolinaState	1.01	$73,860	$78,242	21%
24	OhioState	1.01	$70,260	$77,721	18%
25	UtahState	0.99	$76,350	$76,198	23%
26	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$73,450	$76,670	25%
27	FloridaState	0.97	$76,100	$74,975	27%
28	IndianaState	0.96	$67,060	$74,099	19%
29	ArkansasState	0.95	$63,020	$73,024	17%
30	ConnecticutState	0.95	$79,200	$73,606	24%
31	KentuckyState	0.95	$64,890	$73,322	18%
32	LouisianaState	0.95	$65,940	$73,185	19%
33	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.95	$83,410	$73,489	37%
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$82,780	$73,387	29%
35	OklahomaState	0.93	$63,590	$71,853	18%
36	GeorgiaState	0.92	$66,410	$71,103	26%
37	MississippiState	0.92	$60,560	$71,415	18%
38	New YorkState	0.92	$80,190	$71,280	28%
39	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$77,310	$71,253	32%
40	ArizonaState	0.91	$71,230	$70,595	25%
41	WashingtonState	0.90	$74,850	$69,758	30%
42	IllinoisState	0.89	$67,180	$68,973	23%
43	South DakotaState	0.89	$62,280	$68,590	18%
44	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$66,410	$68,605	29%
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.89	$73,840	$68,497	29%
46	MaineState	0.88	$67,670	$67,806	23%
47	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$62,360	$67,783	25%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$78,140	$68,364	34%
49	KansasState	0.86	$59,730	$66,367	21%
50	VirginiaState	0.82	$65,320	$63,111	29%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.82	$61,190	$63,607	31%
52	ColoradoState	0.81	$65,730	$62,362	34%
53	IdahoState	0.79	$58,720	$60,850	24%
54	OregonState	0.79	$63,090	$61,252	30%
55	New JerseyState	0.78	$65,900	$60,570	33%
56	AlaskaState	0.72	$58,330	$55,925	28%

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