Best Cities for Special Education Teachers, Preschools

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where special education teachers, preschools 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	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.99	$119,560	$128,836	13%
2	MassachusettsState	1.41	$99,070	$91,309	27%
3	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.35	$99,440	$87,612	31%
4	PennsylvaniaState	1.33	$83,510	$86,093	19%
5	New JerseyState	1.31	$92,060	$84,614	23%
6	MichiganState	1.27	$75,860	$82,189	18%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.27	$74,810	$82,029	20%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.27	$94,240	$82,450	28%
9	ConnecticutState	1.26	$87,960	$81,747	21%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.25	$80,700	$81,106	22%
11	WashingtonState	1.24	$86,580	$80,690	26%
12	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.24	$78,090	$80,671	25%
13	MarylandState	1.20	$85,010	$77,848	24%
14	AlaskaState	1.19	$80,390	$77,076	20%
15	GeorgiaState	1.19	$72,310	$77,420	23%
16	MinnesotaState	1.19	$75,880	$77,429	20%
17	VermontState	1.19	$79,000	$77,073	22%
18	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.19	$79,560	$76,870	24%
19	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.18	$74,110	$76,245	26%
20	OregonState	1.16	$77,490	$75,233	25%
21	VirginiaState	1.16	$77,570	$74,947	24%
22	ColoradoState	1.14	$78,040	$74,042	28%
23	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.13	$82,760	$73,369	29%
24	New MexicoState	1.11	$66,010	$71,750	19%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$77,540	$71,929	28%
26	IowaState	1.10	$63,540	$71,233	18%
27	MissouriState	1.08	$62,250	$70,260	20%
28	NebraskaState	1.06	$62,760	$68,590	20%
29	TexasState	1.06	$65,680	$68,703	25%
30	HawaiiState	1.05	$75,120	$68,291	38%
31	OhioState	1.04	$60,700	$67,146	21%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$63,670	$66,461	28%
33	WisconsinState	1.02	$60,870	$65,948	21%
34	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.02	$63,830	$66,351	29%
35	KansasState	1.01	$59,220	$65,800	21%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	1.01	$61,290	$65,551	25%
37	North DakotaState	1.00	$60,060	$64,860	20%
38	South CarolinaState	1.00	$59,800	$65,000	25%
39	TennesseeState	1.00	$59,550	$65,082	25%
40	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$60,070	$64,941	24%
41	IllinoisState	0.99	$62,580	$64,251	25%
42	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$59,340	$64,500	26%
43	North CarolinaState	0.98	$60,180	$63,750	26%
44	LouisianaState	0.97	$56,890	$63,141	22%
45	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.96	$61,380	$62,315	34%
46	KentuckyState	0.95	$54,220	$61,266	21%
47	MississippiState	0.95	$52,420	$61,816	20%
48	MaineState	0.94	$60,680	$60,802	26%
49	New YorkState	0.93	$68,180	$60,604	33%
50	ArizonaState	0.92	$60,130	$59,594	30%
51	Rhode IslandState	0.91	$59,310	$59,015	30%
52	DelawareState	0.90	$59,250	$58,663	27%
53	New HampshireState	0.90	$61,720	$58,226	31%
54	UtahState	0.90	$58,230	$58,114	31%
55	FloridaState	0.89	$58,240	$57,379	35%
56	OklahomaState	0.87	$49,720	$56,181	23%
57	WyomingState	0.86	$52,100	$56,022	23%
58	CaliforniaState	0.83	$59,550	$53,794	46%
59	IndianaState	0.83	$48,680	$53,790	26%
60	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$57,840	$53,309	42%
61	IdahoState	0.79	$49,610	$51,409	29%
62	ArkansasState	0.64	$35,580	$41,228	30%

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