Best Cities for School Psychologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where school psychologistss 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	New MexicoState	1.25	$110,360	$119,957	11%
2	ColoradoState	1.23	$124,770	$118,378	18%
3	CaliforniaState	1.20	$127,780	$115,429	21%
4	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.13	$114,520	$108,242	18%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.13	$130,520	$108,586	29%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$100,730	$107,733	15%
7	GeorgiaState	1.11	$99,110	$106,113	17%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.10	$113,950	$105,705	19%
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.09	$122,390	$105,056	22%
10	OregonState	1.07	$106,070	$102,981	18%
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$99,110	$102,386	20%
12	WashingtonState	1.06	$108,780	$101,379	21%
13	MarylandState	1.05	$109,700	$100,458	18%
14	OhioState	1.05	$91,010	$100,675	14%
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$115,570	$101,111	23%
16	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$92,370	$99,859	15%
17	NebraskaState	1.01	$88,980	$97,246	14%
18	DelawareState	0.99	$95,990	$95,040	17%
19	New YorkState	0.99	$106,550	$94,711	21%
20	District of ColumbiaState	0.98	$107,500	$94,051	23%
21	Rhode IslandState	0.98	$94,900	$94,428	19%
22	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$106,550	$94,459	22%
23	ConnecticutState	0.97	$100,600	$93,494	19%
24	NevadaState	0.97	$93,680	$93,493	19%
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.97	$85,050	$93,257	17%
26	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$100,750	$92,857	24%
27	ArizonaState	0.95	$92,380	$91,556	19%
28	MassachusettsState	0.95	$98,670	$90,940	27%
29	MichiganState	0.95	$83,960	$90,964	16%
30	AlaskaState	0.94	$94,460	$90,566	17%
31	WisconsinState	0.94	$83,330	$90,282	16%
32	WyomingState	0.94	$83,740	$90,043	14%
33	West VirginiaState	0.93	$75,220	$89,335	13%
34	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.92	$87,510	$87,950	20%
35	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$80,920	$87,957	19%
36	IllinoisState	0.91	$84,690	$86,951	19%
37	MinnesotaState	0.91	$85,190	$86,929	18%
38	New JerseyState	0.91	$95,160	$87,463	23%
39	TexasState	0.91	$83,690	$87,542	20%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.91	$98,670	$86,934	31%
41	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$85,870	$87,178	24%
42	AlabamaState	0.90	$75,060	$86,177	15%
43	South DakotaState	0.90	$78,370	$86,311	15%
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.90	$84,200	$86,626	23%
45	IndianaState	0.89	$77,640	$85,790	16%
46	KentuckyState	0.89	$75,370	$85,164	15%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.88	$82,190	$84,732	19%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.88	$80,850	$84,395	22%
49	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.88	$78,090	$84,149	20%
50	FloridaState	0.87	$84,760	$83,507	24%
51	IowaState	0.87	$74,410	$83,419	15%
52	South CarolinaState	0.87	$76,720	$83,391	20%
53	TennesseeState	0.87	$76,850	$83,989	20%
54	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$80,420	$83,597	23%
55	MontanaState	0.86	$80,010	$82,998	17%
56	VirginiaState	0.86	$85,670	$82,773	22%
57	KansasState	0.85	$73,020	$81,133	17%
58	MaineState	0.85	$81,650	$81,814	19%
59	VermontState	0.84	$82,820	$80,800	21%
60	MissouriState	0.83	$70,290	$79,334	18%
61	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.83	$82,190	$79,411	23%
62	North CarolinaState	0.81	$73,220	$77,564	21%
63	UtahState	0.81	$77,820	$77,665	23%
64	LouisianaState	0.80	$69,020	$76,604	18%
65	HawaiiState	0.78	$82,110	$74,645	35%
66	North DakotaState	0.78	$68,960	$74,471	17%
67	ArkansasState	0.77	$64,030	$74,195	16%
68	IdahoState	0.77	$71,700	$74,301	20%
69	OklahomaState	0.76	$64,930	$73,367	18%
70	MississippiState	0.75	$61,070	$72,017	18%
71	New HampshireState	0.72	$73,490	$69,330	26%

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