Best Cities for Speech-Language Pathologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where speech-language pathologistss 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	1.13	$132,720	$110,416	28%
2	CaliforniaState	1.10	$118,970	$107,471	23%
3	New MexicoState	1.10	$98,690	$107,272	13%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.09	$102,860	$106,260	19%
5	ColoradoState	1.07	$110,750	$105,076	20%
6	NevadaState	1.07	$104,510	$104,301	17%
7	TexasState	1.07	$99,910	$104,508	17%
8	GeorgiaState	1.06	$96,760	$103,597	18%
9	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$104,000	$103,483	17%
10	OhioState	1.05	$93,300	$103,208	13%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$96,460	$103,166	16%
12	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$99,540	$102,407	19%
13	DelawareState	1.04	$102,760	$101,743	16%
14	MissouriState	1.03	$89,280	$100,767	14%
15	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$92,700	$100,761	17%
16	OregonState	1.02	$102,660	$99,670	19%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.02	$107,650	$99,861	20%
18	AlaskaState	1.01	$102,670	$98,437	16%
19	FloridaState	1.01	$99,990	$98,512	21%
20	South CarolinaState	1.01	$90,530	$98,402	17%
21	WashingtonState	1.01	$105,550	$98,369	22%
22	IllinoisState	1.00	$95,080	$97,618	17%
23	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$89,640	$98,289	16%
24	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$96,580	$98,051	21%
25	ArizonaState	0.99	$97,800	$96,928	18%
26	ArkansasState	0.99	$83,580	$96,848	13%
27	IndianaState	0.99	$87,360	$96,530	14%
28	MichiganState	0.99	$89,120	$96,555	15%
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.99	$100,080	$96,696	19%
30	District of ColumbiaState	0.98	$109,380	$95,696	23%
31	OklahomaState	0.98	$84,470	$95,446	14%
32	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$92,960	$95,835	17%
33	West VirginiaState	0.98	$80,970	$96,164	12%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.98	$101,160	$95,614	20%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$90,960	$94,948	20%
36	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.97	$108,690	$95,092	24%
37	KentuckyState	0.96	$83,550	$94,407	14%
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.96	$109,740	$94,197	25%
39	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.96	$101,590	$93,631	24%
40	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.96	$93,370	$93,839	19%
41	ConnecticutState	0.95	$100,110	$93,039	19%
42	MassachusettsState	0.95	$101,310	$93,373	27%
43	New JerseyState	0.95	$101,560	$93,346	21%
44	TennesseeState	0.95	$84,630	$92,492	18%
45	VirginiaState	0.95	$96,250	$92,995	20%
46	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.95	$86,120	$92,802	18%
47	MississippiState	0.94	$78,130	$92,134	14%
48	NebraskaState	0.94	$84,350	$92,186	15%
49	North CarolinaState	0.94	$86,460	$91,589	18%
50	IowaState	0.93	$81,050	$90,863	14%
51	MarylandState	0.93	$99,190	$90,833	20%
52	MinnesotaState	0.93	$89,380	$91,204	17%
53	UtahState	0.93	$91,560	$91,377	20%
54	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.93	$102,810	$90,581	30%
55	WisconsinState	0.92	$83,000	$89,924	16%
56	HawaiiState	0.91	$97,560	$88,691	29%
57	KansasState	0.91	$80,120	$89,022	16%
58	New YorkState	0.91	$100,610	$89,431	22%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$99,960	$88,617	24%
60	WyomingState	0.90	$82,040	$88,215	14%
61	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.90	$81,810	$88,443	17%
62	IdahoState	0.89	$84,380	$87,440	17%
63	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$83,780	$87,089	22%
64	AlabamaState	0.86	$73,660	$84,569	16%
65	MaineState	0.85	$82,660	$82,826	19%
66	MontanaState	0.83	$78,740	$81,680	17%
67	North DakotaState	0.83	$75,240	$81,253	16%
68	VermontState	0.82	$82,090	$80,088	21%
69	New HampshireState	0.80	$83,040	$78,340	23%
70	LouisianaState	0.79	$69,610	$77,259	18%
71	South DakotaState	0.74	$65,680	$72,335	18%

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