Best Cities for Special Education Teachers, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where special education teachers, 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	New MexicoState	1.23	$86,520	$94,043	15%
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.23	$109,600	$94,077	25%
3	CaliforniaState	1.22	$103,050	$93,089	26%
4	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$97,070	$90,046	22%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.14	$79,500	$87,171	18%
6	MichiganState	1.11	$78,540	$85,092	17%
7	DelawareState	1.10	$85,040	$84,198	19%
8	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$79,580	$82,211	24%
9	GeorgiaState	1.06	$76,130	$81,510	22%
10	IowaState	1.04	$71,050	$79,652	16%
11	OregonState	1.04	$82,240	$79,845	23%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.04	$80,080	$79,682	23%
13	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$76,530	$78,897	20%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.01	$77,150	$77,538	23%
15	ColoradoState	0.98	$79,290	$75,228	28%
16	VirginiaState	0.98	$77,280	$74,667	24%
17	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$74,120	$75,249	28%
18	WisconsinState	0.95	$66,910	$72,492	19%
19	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.95	$87,430	$72,737	43%
20	MassachusettsState	0.94	$78,440	$72,295	34%
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.94	$76,090	$71,919	26%
22	ArkansasState	0.93	$61,690	$71,483	17%
23	KentuckyState	0.93	$63,140	$71,345	18%
24	MinnesotaState	0.93	$69,470	$70,888	22%
25	WashingtonState	0.93	$76,790	$71,566	30%
26	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.93	$73,390	$70,908	26%
27	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.92	$79,880	$70,816	30%
28	MarylandState	0.91	$76,100	$69,689	26%
29	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$75,890	$69,945	32%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$64,070	$69,641	24%
31	North CarolinaState	0.90	$65,170	$69,036	24%
32	TennesseeState	0.90	$63,300	$69,180	24%
33	TexasState	0.90	$65,710	$68,734	25%
34	LouisianaState	0.89	$61,170	$67,891	21%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.89	$66,120	$68,025	29%
36	FloridaState	0.88	$68,690	$67,675	30%
37	IndianaState	0.88	$60,920	$67,315	21%
38	UtahState	0.88	$67,860	$67,725	26%
39	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.88	$62,270	$67,319	23%
40	IllinoisState	0.87	$64,850	$66,581	24%
41	North DakotaState	0.87	$61,500	$66,415	19%
42	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.86	$74,370	$65,524	41%
43	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$63,300	$65,800	29%
44	NebraskaState	0.85	$59,760	$65,311	21%
45	New JerseyState	0.85	$71,110	$65,358	30%
46	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.85	$62,160	$64,885	29%
47	NevadaState	0.84	$64,410	$64,281	27%
48	New HampshireState	0.82	$66,670	$62,896	29%
49	District of ColumbiaState	0.81	$71,130	$62,231	35%
50	ArizonaState	0.77	$59,500	$58,969	30%
51	New YorkState	0.77	$65,970	$58,640	34%
52	ConnecticutState	0.75	$61,480	$57,138	31%
53	AlabamaState	0.74	$49,520	$56,854	23%
54	MaineState	0.74	$56,780	$56,894	27%
55	OhioState	0.74	$51,230	$56,670	24%
56	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.74	$64,960	$56,833	41%
57	MissouriState	0.73	$49,610	$55,993	25%
58	MississippiState	0.72	$46,700	$55,071	23%
59	Columbus, OHMetro	0.69	$49,430	$52,866	31%
60	West VirginiaState	0.62	$39,920	$47,411	25%
61	VermontState	0.60	$46,980	$45,834	36%

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