Best Cities for Substitute Teachers, Short-Terms

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where substitute teachers, short-terms 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	AlaskaState	1.54	$66,920	$64,161	24%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.44	$72,330	$60,175	52%
3	West VirginiaState	1.40	$49,020	$58,219	21%
4	OregonState	1.36	$58,280	$56,583	33%
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.36	$61,190	$56,763	35%
6	CaliforniaState	1.31	$60,300	$54,472	45%
7	HawaiiState	1.28	$58,530	$53,209	49%
8	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.26	$60,070	$52,555	44%
9	WashingtonState	1.25	$55,740	$51,948	41%
10	MinnesotaState	1.23	$50,390	$51,418	30%
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.23	$46,680	$51,184	31%
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.22	$50,390	$50,643	35%
13	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.20	$54,050	$49,816	45%
14	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.18	$57,210	$49,107	48%
15	WisconsinState	1.14	$43,950	$47,616	30%
16	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$44,870	$46,258	35%
17	North DakotaState	1.10	$42,570	$45,972	28%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.09	$45,590	$45,363	40%
19	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.08	$41,820	$45,211	34%
20	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$45,680	$44,135	42%
21	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$49,790	$43,561	51%
22	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.05	$40,440	$43,578	38%
23	MichiganState	1.03	$39,500	$42,795	34%
24	MarylandState	1.02	$46,470	$42,555	43%
25	GeorgiaState	1.00	$38,870	$41,617	44%
26	IowaState	1.00	$37,230	$41,738	31%
27	NebraskaState	0.99	$37,690	$41,191	33%
28	OhioState	0.99	$37,150	$41,095	34%
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$46,470	$41,197	52%
30	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$39,340	$40,640	49%
31	IllinoisState	0.97	$39,410	$40,462	40%
32	New JerseyState	0.97	$43,780	$40,239	49%
33	Columbus, OHMetro	0.97	$37,940	$40,578	41%
34	IndianaState	0.96	$36,360	$40,177	35%
35	KansasState	0.96	$36,190	$40,211	34%
36	New MexicoState	0.95	$36,400	$39,565	35%
37	WyomingState	0.95	$36,990	$39,774	32%
38	MissouriState	0.94	$34,790	$39,266	36%
39	New YorkState	0.93	$43,490	$38,658	51%
40	ArizonaState	0.92	$38,500	$38,157	47%
41	MassachusettsState	0.91	$41,350	$38,111	65%
42	MaineState	0.90	$37,440	$37,515	42%
43	VirginiaState	0.90	$39,020	$37,700	48%
44	VermontState	0.89	$38,200	$37,268	45%
45	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.89	$42,080	$37,075	73%
46	FloridaState	0.88	$37,080	$36,532	56%
47	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$36,100	$36,650	57%
48	DelawareState	0.87	$36,510	$36,149	45%
49	UtahState	0.87	$36,490	$36,417	49%
50	ConnecticutState	0.86	$38,460	$35,743	49%
51	North CarolinaState	0.86	$33,780	$35,784	46%
52	IdahoState	0.85	$34,080	$35,316	42%
53	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.85	$34,270	$35,257	56%
54	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.84	$37,090	$35,057	54%
55	ArkansasState	0.81	$29,230	$33,870	36%
56	KentuckyState	0.81	$29,730	$33,593	39%
57	TexasState	0.80	$32,040	$33,515	52%
58	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.80	$32,010	$33,413	56%
59	New HampshireState	0.79	$34,990	$33,009	54%
60	South CarolinaState	0.79	$30,400	$33,043	50%
61	TennesseeState	0.77	$29,500	$32,240	51%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.77	$30,820	$32,037	61%
63	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.77	$29,510	$32,076	53%
64	South DakotaState	0.74	$27,840	$30,661	41%
65	LouisianaState	0.73	$27,370	$30,377	46%
66	AlabamaState	0.70	$25,340	$29,093	45%
67	MontanaState	0.70	$28,050	$29,098	48%
68	OklahomaState	0.64	$23,770	$26,859	49%
69	MississippiState	0.63	$22,340	$26,344	48%
70	NevadaState	0.60	$24,960	$24,910	70%

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