Best Cities for Sociology Teachers, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where sociology 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	DelawareState	1.45	$123,710	$122,485	13%
2	CaliforniaState	1.37	$127,680	$115,339	21%
3	MichiganState	1.32	$102,870	$111,452	13%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.30	$128,010	$109,880	21%
5	New HampshireState	1.26	$112,890	$106,500	17%
6	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.25	$102,330	$105,713	19%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.23	$94,820	$103,969	15%
8	PennsylvaniaState	1.22	$99,660	$102,742	16%
9	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.22	$95,440	$103,178	15%
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.19	$120,570	$100,308	31%
11	UtahState	1.18	$99,350	$99,152	18%
12	OregonState	1.17	$101,960	$98,990	19%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.15	$104,090	$96,558	21%
14	ConnecticutState	1.12	$101,490	$94,322	19%
15	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.12	$99,980	$94,499	20%
16	LouisianaState	1.10	$83,700	$92,897	15%
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$95,620	$92,386	20%
18	IowaState	1.09	$81,910	$91,827	14%
19	West VirginiaState	1.09	$77,380	$91,900	13%
20	WisconsinState	1.09	$84,960	$92,048	15%
21	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.09	$103,810	$91,463	30%
22	District of ColumbiaState	1.07	$103,160	$90,254	24%
23	GeorgiaState	1.07	$84,330	$90,289	20%
24	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$84,010	$89,850	18%
25	MassachusettsState	1.06	$96,790	$89,207	28%
26	MinnesotaState	1.06	$87,340	$89,122	18%
27	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.06	$86,800	$89,300	22%
28	IndianaState	1.05	$79,880	$88,265	16%
29	OhioState	1.05	$79,690	$88,153	16%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$85,070	$88,430	22%
31	KansasState	1.04	$78,630	$87,367	16%
32	MarylandState	1.04	$95,980	$87,894	21%
33	MissouriState	1.04	$77,800	$87,810	16%
34	NevadaState	1.04	$87,480	$87,305	20%
35	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.04	$87,340	$87,779	20%
36	IdahoState	1.03	$84,140	$87,192	17%
37	New YorkState	1.03	$97,540	$86,702	23%
38	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.03	$97,580	$86,507	25%
39	IllinoisState	1.01	$82,610	$84,815	19%
40	South CarolinaState	1.01	$78,410	$85,228	19%
41	TexasState	1.01	$81,220	$84,958	20%
42	VermontState	1.01	$87,620	$85,483	20%
43	AlabamaState	1.00	$73,670	$84,581	16%
44	New MexicoState	1.00	$77,740	$84,500	16%
45	TennesseeState	1.00	$77,370	$84,557	19%
46	MississippiState	0.99	$70,860	$83,561	15%
47	NebraskaState	0.99	$76,230	$83,311	16%
48	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.98	$76,320	$82,241	20%
49	North CarolinaState	0.96	$76,430	$80,964	20%
50	MontanaState	0.93	$75,880	$78,714	18%
51	ArizonaState	0.92	$78,430	$77,730	23%
52	WashingtonState	0.92	$83,140	$77,484	27%
53	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.92	$88,930	$77,804	30%
54	MaineState	0.90	$76,010	$76,162	20%
55	VirginiaState	0.90	$78,120	$75,478	24%
56	ColoradoState	0.89	$78,630	$74,602	28%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$80,750	$74,424	30%
58	OklahomaState	0.87	$64,900	$73,333	18%
59	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.87	$67,770	$73,663	23%
60	ArkansasState	0.86	$62,390	$72,294	17%
61	New JerseyState	0.85	$78,350	$72,013	28%
62	South DakotaState	0.84	$64,210	$70,716	18%
63	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$66,890	$69,823	27%
64	KentuckyState	0.82	$61,260	$69,220	19%
65	FloridaState	0.74	$63,470	$62,532	33%

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