Best Cities for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Educations

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical educations 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	WashingtonState	1.33	$102,670	$95,685	22%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.28	$92,610	$92,149	20%
3	CaliforniaState	1.27	$101,370	$91,572	27%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.25	$108,230	$90,042	35%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.25	$102,670	$89,825	26%
6	MassachusettsState	1.22	$95,260	$87,797	28%
7	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.22	$81,350	$87,946	17%
8	OhioState	1.21	$78,800	$87,168	16%
9	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.21	$98,850	$87,093	31%
10	Columbus, OHMetro	1.21	$81,400	$87,059	19%
11	New YorkState	1.20	$97,070	$86,284	23%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.20	$100,960	$86,661	27%
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.18	$77,520	$85,000	19%
14	New MexicoState	1.15	$75,900	$82,500	17%
15	IllinoisState	1.14	$79,990	$82,125	20%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.13	$78,800	$81,237	20%
17	GeorgiaState	1.12	$75,480	$80,814	22%
18	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.11	$77,210	$79,762	25%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$79,010	$79,407	22%
20	MinnesotaState	1.08	$76,460	$78,020	20%
21	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$80,560	$77,836	24%
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.08	$84,120	$78,033	26%
23	DelawareState	1.07	$77,960	$77,188	21%
24	OregonState	1.07	$79,570	$77,252	24%
25	AlaskaState	1.06	$79,650	$76,366	21%
26	UtahState	1.06	$76,330	$76,178	23%
27	New JerseyState	1.05	$82,200	$75,551	26%
28	ConnecticutState	1.04	$80,970	$75,251	23%
29	VermontState	1.03	$76,220	$74,361	22%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$78,350	$74,055	26%
31	New HampshireState	1.01	$77,060	$72,698	25%
32	District of ColumbiaState	1.00	$82,750	$72,397	30%
33	MarylandState	1.00	$78,670	$72,042	26%
34	AlabamaState	0.99	$61,990	$71,171	19%
35	MichiganState	0.99	$66,030	$71,538	20%
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$80,300	$71,188	30%
37	KentuckyState	0.97	$61,560	$69,559	19%
38	VirginiaState	0.97	$72,170	$69,729	26%
39	ArkansasState	0.96	$59,660	$69,131	18%
40	ColoradoState	0.96	$72,900	$69,165	30%
41	NebraskaState	0.96	$63,450	$69,344	20%
42	IndianaState	0.95	$61,880	$68,376	20%
43	IowaState	0.95	$61,200	$68,610	19%
44	WisconsinState	0.95	$62,870	$68,115	21%
45	HawaiiState	0.94	$74,310	$67,555	39%
46	South CarolinaState	0.94	$62,580	$68,022	24%
47	TennesseeState	0.94	$61,860	$67,607	24%
48	WyomingState	0.94	$62,690	$67,409	19%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$65,890	$67,788	29%
50	MissouriState	0.93	$59,240	$66,862	21%
51	West VirginiaState	0.93	$56,610	$67,233	18%
52	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$64,710	$67,266	29%
53	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.93	$61,840	$67,217	25%
54	KansasState	0.92	$59,920	$66,578	21%
55	LouisianaState	0.92	$59,850	$66,426	21%
56	North DakotaState	0.92	$61,210	$66,102	19%
57	TexasState	0.92	$63,590	$66,517	26%
58	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.92	$61,200	$65,948	25%
59	NevadaState	0.91	$65,520	$65,389	27%
60	MaineState	0.90	$64,880	$65,010	24%
61	IdahoState	0.89	$61,690	$63,927	23%
62	MontanaState	0.88	$60,990	$63,268	22%
63	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.87	$60,300	$62,944	30%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$61,030	$61,959	34%
65	North CarolinaState	0.85	$57,650	$61,070	27%
66	FloridaState	0.83	$60,410	$59,517	34%
67	MississippiState	0.83	$50,980	$60,118	21%
68	ArizonaState	0.80	$58,360	$57,839	31%
69	South DakotaState	0.78	$51,050	$56,222	23%
70	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.77	$60,410	$55,677	41%
71	OklahomaState	0.76	$48,710	$55,040	24%

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