Best Cities for Surgical Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where surgical assistantss 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	ArizonaState	1.65	$111,170	$110,178	16%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.62	$123,390	$107,953	20%
3	ColoradoState	1.53	$107,440	$101,935	21%
4	NevadaState	1.51	$100,820	$100,619	17%
5	KentuckyState	1.43	$84,600	$95,593	14%
6	South CarolinaState	1.39	$85,580	$93,022	18%
7	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.36	$87,080	$90,520	21%
8	TennesseeState	1.34	$81,640	$89,224	18%
9	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.34	$87,080	$89,588	22%
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.29	$79,110	$85,989	20%
11	OhioState	1.28	$77,450	$85,675	16%
12	WisconsinState	1.27	$78,030	$84,540	17%
13	New JerseyState	1.25	$90,710	$83,373	24%
14	IllinoisState	1.23	$80,210	$82,351	20%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.21	$86,890	$80,603	25%
16	OregonState	1.17	$80,450	$78,107	24%
17	MinnesotaState	1.16	$75,950	$77,500	20%
18	VirginiaState	1.14	$78,910	$76,242	24%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.14	$75,950	$76,332	23%
20	IowaState	1.11	$66,030	$74,025	17%
21	New HampshireState	1.10	$77,670	$73,274	24%
22	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.08	$78,240	$72,111	31%
23	MontanaState	1.05	$67,370	$69,886	20%
24	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.05	$80,550	$70,472	33%
25	TexasState	1.02	$64,930	$67,918	26%
26	New MexicoState	1.01	$62,010	$67,402	20%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.97	$67,080	$64,812	29%
28	KansasState	0.96	$57,810	$64,233	21%
29	North CarolinaState	0.95	$59,920	$63,475	26%
30	ConnecticutState	0.94	$67,580	$62,807	28%
31	IndianaState	0.94	$56,620	$62,564	22%
32	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$60,720	$62,727	32%
33	PennsylvaniaState	0.93	$60,550	$62,423	26%
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$72,030	$61,828	38%
35	FloridaState	0.92	$62,550	$61,626	33%
36	MichiganState	0.92	$56,430	$61,138	24%
37	Rhode IslandState	0.92	$61,900	$61,592	29%
38	WashingtonState	0.91	$65,440	$60,988	35%
39	MississippiState	0.90	$50,810	$59,917	21%
40	West VirginiaState	0.90	$50,870	$60,416	20%
41	AlaskaState	0.88	$61,210	$58,686	27%
42	IdahoState	0.88	$56,460	$58,508	25%
43	NebraskaState	0.87	$53,190	$58,131	24%
44	ArkansasState	0.86	$49,600	$57,474	21%
45	CaliforniaState	0.85	$62,540	$56,495	43%
46	MissouriState	0.83	$49,400	$55,756	25%
47	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.83	$52,890	$55,209	34%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.82	$50,410	$54,497	28%
49	MarylandState	0.80	$58,130	$53,233	35%
50	New YorkState	0.80	$60,070	$53,396	37%
51	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.80	$48,570	$53,257	30%
52	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.80	$60,410	$53,555	40%
53	GeorgiaState	0.79	$49,520	$53,019	34%
54	MassachusettsState	0.78	$56,430	$52,009	48%
55	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.78	$51,420	$52,203	40%
56	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.77	$58,370	$51,427	53%
57	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.76	$53,990	$51,030	37%
58	HawaiiState	0.74	$54,190	$49,264	53%
59	Columbus, OHMetro	0.74	$46,270	$49,487	34%
60	AlabamaState	0.72	$41,710	$47,887	28%
61	OklahomaState	0.68	$40,160	$45,379	29%
62	UtahState	0.67	$44,990	$44,900	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).