Best Cities for Special Education Teachers, Middle Schools

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where special education teachers, middle schools 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	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.51	$121,070	$100,724	31%
2	Rhode IslandState	1.40	$93,970	$93,502	19%
3	WashingtonState	1.39	$99,520	$92,749	23%
4	CaliforniaState	1.37	$101,530	$91,716	27%
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.31	$100,350	$87,795	26%
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.30	$101,560	$87,176	27%
7	ConnecticutState	1.29	$92,900	$86,338	20%
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.29	$78,720	$86,316	19%
9	New YorkState	1.25	$93,820	$83,396	24%
10	OhioState	1.24	$74,590	$82,511	17%
11	MichiganState	1.23	$76,040	$82,384	18%
12	New MexicoState	1.21	$74,440	$80,913	17%
13	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.21	$74,910	$80,984	19%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.21	$87,160	$80,853	25%
15	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.20	$77,750	$80,320	25%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.19	$77,040	$79,423	20%
17	UtahState	1.18	$78,920	$78,762	23%
18	MassachusettsState	1.17	$84,550	$77,926	32%
19	AlaskaState	1.16	$81,000	$77,661	20%
20	DelawareState	1.15	$77,420	$76,653	21%
21	IllinoisState	1.15	$74,730	$76,725	21%
22	OregonState	1.14	$78,360	$76,078	24%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.14	$78,860	$76,193	24%
24	GeorgiaState	1.13	$70,550	$75,535	24%
25	New JerseyState	1.09	$79,110	$72,711	27%
26	AlabamaState	1.08	$62,850	$72,158	18%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.08	$81,620	$71,912	38%
28	IowaState	1.07	$63,590	$71,289	18%
29	VermontState	1.07	$73,110	$71,327	23%
30	WisconsinState	1.07	$65,840	$71,333	20%
31	MarylandState	1.05	$76,410	$69,973	26%
32	District of ColumbiaState	1.04	$79,170	$69,265	32%
33	NebraskaState	1.04	$63,460	$69,355	20%
34	KentuckyState	1.02	$60,200	$68,023	19%
35	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.02	$77,050	$68,307	31%
36	South CarolinaState	1.01	$62,310	$67,728	24%
37	WyomingState	1.01	$62,770	$67,495	19%
38	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.01	$65,870	$67,767	29%
39	West VirginiaState	1.00	$56,440	$67,031	18%
40	ArkansasState	0.99	$56,830	$65,852	19%
41	KansasState	0.99	$59,780	$66,422	21%
42	LouisianaState	0.99	$59,420	$65,949	21%
43	MontanaState	0.99	$63,960	$66,349	21%
44	TexasState	0.99	$63,360	$66,276	26%
45	TennesseeState	0.98	$60,000	$65,574	25%
46	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$61,420	$65,690	25%
47	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.98	$60,550	$65,248	25%
48	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$60,430	$65,685	26%
49	IndianaState	0.97	$58,900	$65,083	21%
50	MinnesotaState	0.97	$63,630	$64,929	24%
51	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.96	$63,660	$63,980	28%
52	MaineState	0.95	$63,440	$63,567	24%
53	NevadaState	0.95	$63,280	$63,154	28%
54	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.95	$60,590	$63,246	30%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.95	$61,300	$63,721	30%
56	ColoradoState	0.94	$66,130	$62,742	33%
57	New HampshireState	0.94	$66,760	$62,981	28%
58	North CarolinaState	0.94	$59,360	$62,881	26%
59	IdahoState	0.93	$60,170	$62,352	24%
60	North DakotaState	0.93	$57,680	$62,289	20%
61	ArizonaState	0.92	$62,130	$61,576	29%
62	VirginiaState	0.92	$63,820	$61,662	30%
63	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.92	$60,780	$61,706	34%
64	MississippiState	0.90	$50,750	$59,847	21%
65	FloridaState	0.89	$60,440	$59,547	34%
66	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.87	$61,530	$58,157	33%
67	MissouriState	0.85	$50,370	$56,851	25%
68	OklahomaState	0.85	$50,450	$57,006	23%
69	South DakotaState	0.85	$51,360	$56,564	22%
70	HawaiiState	0.84	$61,750	$56,136	46%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.80	$58,090	$53,539	42%

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