Best Cities for Self-Enrichment Teacherss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where self-enrichment teacherss 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.24	$66,430	$58,119	38%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.22	$55,490	$57,324	35%
3	New HampshireState	1.21	$59,880	$56,491	32%
4	GeorgiaState	1.20	$52,320	$56,017	32%
5	South DakotaState	1.17	$49,720	$54,758	23%
6	West VirginiaState	1.14	$45,010	$53,456	22%
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$59,760	$52,979	40%
8	OregonState	1.12	$53,790	$52,223	36%
9	VermontState	1.11	$53,190	$51,893	32%
10	ConnecticutState	1.10	$55,240	$51,338	34%
11	New YorkState	1.10	$57,790	$51,369	38%
12	New MexicoState	1.07	$45,890	$49,880	27%
13	WyomingState	1.07	$46,640	$50,151	25%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$53,790	$49,898	40%
15	New JerseyState	1.06	$53,780	$49,430	40%
16	MissouriState	1.04	$43,090	$48,634	29%
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.04	$58,330	$48,527	65%
18	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.03	$44,840	$48,319	34%
19	HawaiiState	1.01	$51,960	$47,236	55%
20	MarylandState	1.01	$51,630	$47,280	39%
21	VirginiaState	1.01	$49,160	$47,498	38%
22	MaineState	1.00	$46,720	$46,814	33%
23	MinnesotaState	1.00	$45,660	$46,592	34%
24	MontanaState	1.00	$45,050	$46,732	30%
25	NevadaState	1.00	$47,020	$46,926	37%
26	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.99	$45,930	$46,161	39%
27	AlaskaState	0.98	$47,710	$45,743	34%
28	KansasState	0.98	$41,290	$45,878	30%
29	MississippiState	0.98	$38,770	$45,719	28%
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$48,770	$46,096	41%
31	IllinoisState	0.97	$44,230	$45,411	36%
32	KentuckyState	0.97	$39,990	$45,186	29%
33	MassachusettsState	0.97	$49,430	$45,558	55%
34	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$44,680	$45,360	46%
35	CaliforniaState	0.96	$49,570	$44,779	55%
36	FloridaState	0.96	$45,830	$45,153	45%
37	WashingtonState	0.96	$48,020	$44,753	47%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.96	$46,650	$45,072	41%
39	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.95	$50,250	$44,273	61%
40	AlabamaState	0.94	$38,430	$44,122	30%
41	North CarolinaState	0.94	$41,710	$44,184	37%
42	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$47,710	$43,972	51%
43	ArizonaState	0.93	$44,110	$43,717	41%
44	MichiganState	0.93	$40,350	$43,716	33%
45	UtahState	0.93	$43,580	$43,493	41%
46	OklahomaState	0.92	$38,010	$42,949	31%
47	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$41,740	$43,031	37%
48	South CarolinaState	0.92	$39,800	$43,261	38%
49	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$41,420	$43,236	43%
50	ColoradoState	0.91	$44,710	$42,419	50%
51	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$48,530	$42,458	54%
52	LouisianaState	0.90	$37,760	$41,909	33%
53	TennesseeState	0.90	$38,730	$42,328	39%
54	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.90	$38,620	$42,346	38%
55	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$49,070	$42,120	55%
56	NebraskaState	0.89	$38,240	$41,792	33%
57	Rhode IslandState	0.89	$41,960	$41,751	43%
58	OhioState	0.88	$37,360	$41,327	34%
59	WisconsinState	0.88	$37,820	$40,975	34%
60	IndianaState	0.87	$36,980	$40,862	34%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$38,730	$40,260	48%
62	IowaState	0.85	$35,670	$39,989	32%
63	Columbus, OHMetro	0.84	$36,870	$39,433	42%
64	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.84	$36,530	$39,492	39%
65	IdahoState	0.81	$36,490	$37,813	39%
66	North DakotaState	0.81	$35,100	$37,905	33%
67	TexasState	0.81	$36,140	$37,803	46%
68	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.79	$33,830	$36,772	46%
69	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.78	$35,500	$36,523	54%
70	ArkansasState	0.76	$30,810	$35,701	34%
71	DelawareState	0.73	$34,730	$34,386	47%

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