Best Cities for Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all others 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	Rhode IslandState	1.73	$126,630	$126,000	14%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.71	$149,960	$124,759	25%
3	CaliforniaState	1.65	$132,920	$120,072	20%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.56	$132,920	$114,094	20%
5	MichiganState	1.45	$97,450	$105,580	14%
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.44	$104,690	$105,216	17%
7	MinnesotaState	1.43	$102,430	$104,520	15%
8	UtahState	1.39	$101,970	$101,766	18%
9	New MexicoState	1.34	$89,860	$97,674	14%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.32	$88,100	$96,601	17%
11	IowaState	1.29	$83,920	$94,081	14%
12	VirginiaState	1.25	$94,740	$91,536	20%
13	MassachusettsState	1.24	$98,260	$90,562	28%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.19	$98,370	$86,670	31%
15	MissouriState	1.18	$76,130	$85,926	16%
16	WisconsinState	1.17	$78,640	$85,200	17%
17	NevadaState	1.15	$83,860	$83,693	21%
18	IndianaState	1.13	$74,360	$82,166	17%
19	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.13	$80,380	$82,695	24%
20	OhioState	1.12	$73,590	$81,405	17%
21	VermontState	1.12	$83,870	$81,824	20%
22	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.10	$77,440	$80,499	24%
23	TennesseeState	1.07	$71,680	$78,339	21%
24	TexasState	1.06	$73,750	$77,144	23%
25	West VirginiaState	1.03	$63,360	$75,249	16%
26	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$80,380	$74,564	27%
27	KentuckyState	1.00	$64,840	$73,266	18%
28	New HampshireState	1.00	$77,100	$72,736	25%
29	MississippiState	0.98	$60,550	$71,403	18%
30	South CarolinaState	0.98	$65,520	$71,217	23%
31	ArizonaState	0.97	$71,230	$70,595	25%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$75,050	$70,936	27%
33	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$65,230	$70,902	24%
34	New YorkState	0.96	$79,040	$70,258	28%
35	OregonState	0.96	$72,420	$70,311	26%
36	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$64,580	$69,591	24%
37	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$64,420	$69,643	22%
38	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.95	$78,060	$69,202	31%
39	ConnecticutState	0.94	$73,930	$68,708	25%
40	North DakotaState	0.94	$63,860	$68,963	18%
41	OklahomaState	0.94	$60,420	$68,271	19%
42	NebraskaState	0.93	$62,010	$67,770	20%
43	WashingtonState	0.93	$72,670	$67,726	31%
44	MaineState	0.91	$66,410	$66,543	23%
45	IllinoisState	0.89	$63,470	$65,164	25%
46	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.89	$62,960	$65,041	31%
47	IdahoState	0.87	$61,190	$63,409	23%
48	MarylandState	0.86	$68,650	$62,866	29%
49	New JerseyState	0.80	$63,250	$58,134	34%
50	GeorgiaState	0.79	$53,660	$57,452	32%
51	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.79	$60,050	$58,019	32%
52	KansasState	0.78	$51,540	$57,267	24%
53	FloridaState	0.77	$57,180	$56,335	36%
54	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.72	$57,180	$52,700	43%
55	PennsylvaniaState	0.69	$48,710	$50,216	32%
56	ArkansasState	0.60	$37,490	$43,441	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).