Best Cities for Special Education Teachers, Secondary Schools

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where special education teachers, secondary 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	1.32	$117,640	$97,870	32%
2	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.29	$101,700	$96,125	20%
3	WashingtonState	1.27	$101,120	$94,240	23%
4	Rhode IslandState	1.25	$92,990	$92,527	19%
5	CaliforniaState	1.23	$101,060	$91,292	27%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.21	$102,290	$89,493	26%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.20	$81,520	$89,386	18%
8	District of ColumbiaState	1.17	$99,670	$87,200	25%
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.17	$100,900	$86,609	27%
10	MarylandState	1.15	$93,530	$85,650	22%
11	MichiganState	1.14	$78,050	$84,561	17%
12	New MexicoState	1.13	$76,940	$83,630	16%
13	OhioState	1.13	$76,180	$84,270	16%
14	IllinoisState	1.10	$79,890	$82,023	20%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$75,160	$81,254	19%
16	GeorgiaState	1.07	$74,150	$79,390	23%
17	New YorkState	1.07	$89,310	$79,387	25%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.07	$77,000	$79,381	20%
19	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.07	$77,180	$79,731	25%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.07	$79,190	$79,588	22%
21	DelawareState	1.05	$78,490	$77,713	21%
22	MinnesotaState	1.05	$76,600	$78,163	20%
23	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$72,860	$77,925	21%
24	AlaskaState	1.04	$80,580	$77,258	20%
25	MassachusettsState	1.04	$83,890	$77,318	32%
26	New JerseyState	1.04	$83,770	$76,994	26%
27	VermontState	1.04	$79,360	$77,424	22%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.04	$87,630	$77,207	35%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$79,760	$77,063	24%
30	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.04	$82,880	$76,883	26%
31	ConnecticutState	1.02	$81,710	$75,939	23%
32	OregonState	1.01	$77,400	$75,146	25%
33	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.01	$85,000	$75,355	28%
34	AlabamaState	0.96	$62,210	$71,424	18%
35	NebraskaState	0.93	$63,460	$69,355	20%
36	WisconsinState	0.93	$63,520	$68,819	20%
37	IowaState	0.92	$60,780	$68,139	19%
38	KentuckyState	0.92	$60,730	$68,621	19%
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.92	$66,440	$68,354	29%
40	IndianaState	0.91	$61,130	$67,547	21%
41	KansasState	0.91	$60,700	$67,444	20%
42	OklahomaState	0.91	$59,660	$67,412	19%
43	South CarolinaState	0.91	$62,150	$67,554	24%
44	TexasState	0.91	$64,830	$67,814	26%
45	WyomingState	0.91	$62,750	$67,473	19%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$61,890	$67,272	25%
47	TennesseeState	0.90	$61,360	$67,060	25%
48	ArkansasState	0.89	$57,000	$66,049	18%
49	North DakotaState	0.89	$61,210	$66,102	19%
50	VirginiaState	0.89	$68,400	$66,087	28%
51	West VirginiaState	0.89	$55,390	$65,784	18%
52	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$61,090	$65,830	25%
53	LouisianaState	0.88	$59,100	$65,594	21%
54	New HampshireState	0.88	$69,560	$65,623	27%
55	MontanaState	0.87	$62,310	$64,637	22%
56	ArizonaState	0.86	$64,300	$63,726	28%
57	ColoradoState	0.86	$67,240	$63,795	33%
58	UtahState	0.86	$64,210	$64,082	28%
59	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.86	$61,360	$63,784	30%
60	IdahoState	0.85	$60,700	$62,902	24%
61	MissouriState	0.85	$55,920	$63,115	22%
62	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.84	$60,070	$62,704	30%
63	MaineState	0.83	$61,710	$61,834	25%
64	MississippiState	0.83	$51,970	$61,285	21%
65	FloridaState	0.82	$61,510	$60,601	34%
66	NevadaState	0.82	$60,810	$60,689	29%
67	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.82	$60,070	$60,985	34%
68	HawaiiState	0.81	$65,980	$59,982	43%
69	North CarolinaState	0.81	$56,770	$60,138	28%
70	South DakotaState	0.81	$54,810	$60,363	21%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.76	$61,600	$56,774	40%

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