Best Cities for Social Work Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where social work 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	HawaiiState	1.56	$133,340	$121,218	21%
2	KansasState	1.56	$108,610	$120,678	11%
3	South CarolinaState	1.41	$100,400	$109,130	15%
4	DelawareState	1.28	$100,550	$99,554	16%
5	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.20	$98,590	$93,185	20%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.19	$84,480	$92,632	17%
7	West VirginiaState	1.17	$76,320	$90,641	13%
8	MarylandState	1.15	$97,110	$88,929	21%
9	New YorkState	1.13	$98,700	$87,733	22%
10	TexasState	1.13	$83,440	$87,280	20%
11	MinnesotaState	1.08	$82,470	$84,153	19%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$83,200	$83,618	21%
13	MichiganState	1.07	$76,680	$83,077	17%
14	WisconsinState	1.07	$76,420	$82,795	17%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$80,220	$82,872	24%
16	IndianaState	1.06	$74,240	$82,033	17%
17	TennesseeState	1.06	$75,190	$82,175	20%
18	UtahState	1.05	$81,850	$81,687	22%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$91,900	$81,472	26%
20	MaineState	1.04	$80,250	$80,411	19%
21	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$74,900	$80,973	19%
22	IllinoisState	1.02	$77,010	$79,066	20%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$75,920	$78,268	20%
24	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$80,300	$77,585	24%
25	AlabamaState	0.98	$66,520	$76,372	17%
26	New MexicoState	0.98	$69,950	$76,033	18%
27	MississippiState	0.97	$63,680	$75,094	17%
28	MissouriState	0.97	$66,470	$75,023	19%
29	ConnecticutState	0.96	$79,960	$74,312	24%
30	VirginiaState	0.96	$77,180	$74,570	24%
31	CaliforniaState	0.95	$81,500	$73,622	33%
32	KentuckyState	0.95	$65,260	$73,740	18%
33	MassachusettsState	0.95	$79,710	$73,465	34%
34	NevadaState	0.95	$74,180	$74,032	23%
35	North CarolinaState	0.94	$68,660	$72,733	23%
36	WashingtonState	0.94	$77,920	$72,619	29%
37	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$83,160	$73,269	37%
38	IowaState	0.93	$64,190	$71,962	18%
39	OregonState	0.93	$74,320	$72,155	26%
40	ArizonaState	0.92	$71,690	$71,051	25%
41	New HampshireState	0.92	$75,500	$71,226	25%
42	New JerseyState	0.92	$77,570	$71,296	28%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.92	$68,660	$71,670	26%
44	ArkansasState	0.90	$60,470	$70,070	17%
45	GeorgiaState	0.90	$65,350	$69,968	26%
46	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$74,950	$69,527	29%
47	OklahomaState	0.89	$60,910	$68,825	19%
48	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.88	$78,250	$68,460	34%
49	NebraskaState	0.87	$61,430	$67,137	20%
50	OhioState	0.87	$60,930	$67,400	21%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.87	$64,740	$67,297	29%
52	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.86	$77,970	$66,927	35%
53	South DakotaState	0.85	$60,100	$66,189	19%
54	IdahoState	0.83	$62,230	$64,487	23%
55	Columbus, OHMetro	0.82	$59,610	$63,754	26%
56	FloridaState	0.77	$60,580	$59,685	34%
57	MontanaState	0.58	$43,010	$44,616	31%

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