Best Cities for Soil and Plant Scientistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where soil and plant scientistss 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	IowaState	1.37	$96,310	$107,971	12%
2	FloridaState	1.29	$103,240	$101,714	20%
3	IdahoState	1.25	$95,150	$98,601	15%
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$116,660	$97,055	32%
5	AlaskaState	1.22	$100,320	$96,184	16%
6	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.21	$103,740	$95,613	24%
7	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$107,140	$93,736	24%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.16	$83,370	$91,414	18%
9	IndianaState	1.12	$80,030	$88,431	16%
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.12	$94,940	$88,071	23%
11	MississippiState	1.09	$72,690	$85,719	15%
12	MissouriState	1.09	$76,080	$85,869	16%
13	South CarolinaState	1.09	$78,850	$85,707	19%
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$95,870	$84,991	25%
15	NebraskaState	1.07	$77,500	$84,699	16%
16	New JerseyState	1.07	$91,970	$84,531	23%
17	ArizonaState	1.05	$83,840	$83,092	21%
18	CaliforniaState	1.05	$91,930	$83,044	30%
19	OregonState	1.05	$85,150	$82,670	22%
20	IllinoisState	1.04	$79,490	$81,612	20%
21	MinnesotaState	1.03	$79,610	$81,235	19%
22	North CarolinaState	1.03	$76,330	$80,858	20%
23	South DakotaState	1.03	$73,590	$81,046	16%
24	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.01	$76,330	$79,676	24%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$79,610	$80,010	22%
26	MaineState	0.99	$78,250	$78,407	20%
27	MarylandState	0.99	$85,020	$77,857	24%
28	HawaiiState	0.97	$84,390	$76,718	34%
29	KentuckyState	0.97	$67,340	$76,090	17%
30	MontanaState	0.97	$73,920	$76,680	18%
31	New MexicoState	0.96	$69,480	$75,522	18%
32	WashingtonState	0.95	$79,970	$74,529	28%
33	KansasState	0.93	$65,670	$72,967	19%
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.93	$83,390	$72,957	32%
35	AlabamaState	0.92	$63,010	$72,342	18%
36	OklahomaState	0.92	$63,910	$72,215	18%
37	PennsylvaniaState	0.92	$70,550	$72,732	22%
38	ColoradoState	0.91	$75,430	$71,565	29%
39	VirginiaState	0.91	$73,920	$71,420	26%
40	WisconsinState	0.91	$66,200	$71,723	20%
41	MichiganState	0.90	$65,390	$70,845	21%
42	NevadaState	0.90	$71,450	$71,307	24%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.90	$82,490	$70,807	33%
44	North DakotaState	0.89	$65,320	$70,540	18%
45	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$65,190	$70,248	24%
46	GeorgiaState	0.88	$65,170	$69,775	26%
47	New YorkState	0.88	$77,800	$69,156	29%
48	TennesseeState	0.86	$61,950	$67,705	24%
49	LouisianaState	0.85	$60,200	$66,815	21%
50	Columbus, OHMetro	0.83	$60,970	$65,209	25%
51	DelawareState	0.82	$65,310	$64,663	25%
52	MassachusettsState	0.82	$69,880	$64,406	39%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.81	$61,610	$63,647	31%
54	ConnecticutState	0.80	$67,630	$62,853	28%
55	OhioState	0.80	$56,820	$62,854	22%
56	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.79	$64,070	$61,903	30%
57	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.78	$69,880	$61,568	44%
58	UtahState	0.76	$59,900	$59,780	30%
59	WyomingState	0.76	$55,680	$59,871	21%
60	VermontState	0.72	$58,220	$56,800	29%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.69	$57,840	$54,669	35%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.66	$50,160	$52,141	37%

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