Best Cities for Surgical Technologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where surgical technologistss 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	1.37	$106,840	$88,885	35%
2	MinnesotaState	1.27	$80,210	$81,847	19%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.27	$79,990	$82,294	24%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.27	$82,000	$82,412	22%
5	WisconsinState	1.24	$74,120	$80,303	18%
6	OregonState	1.22	$81,390	$79,019	23%
7	AlaskaState	1.19	$80,380	$77,066	20%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$82,430	$76,466	26%
9	NevadaState	1.17	$75,480	$75,329	23%
10	HawaiiState	1.16	$82,640	$75,127	35%
11	IdahoState	1.16	$72,550	$75,181	20%
12	ConnecticutState	1.15	$79,890	$74,247	24%
13	MassachusettsState	1.15	$80,870	$74,535	33%
14	CaliforniaState	1.14	$81,310	$73,451	33%
15	Rhode IslandState	1.14	$74,130	$73,761	24%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$65,810	$72,160	22%
17	ArizonaState	1.11	$72,260	$71,615	25%
18	ColoradoState	1.11	$75,740	$71,860	29%
19	WashingtonState	1.11	$77,270	$72,013	29%
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.11	$81,500	$71,806	38%
21	IndianaState	1.10	$64,240	$70,983	20%
22	New HampshireState	1.10	$75,040	$70,792	25%
23	New JerseyState	1.10	$77,200	$70,956	28%
24	New YorkState	1.09	$79,550	$70,711	28%
25	NebraskaState	1.08	$63,880	$69,814	20%
26	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.08	$67,570	$69,804	29%
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$81,580	$70,026	33%
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.08	$79,900	$69,904	33%
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.08	$78,750	$69,814	30%
30	MissouriState	1.07	$61,120	$68,984	20%
31	OhioState	1.07	$62,420	$69,049	20%
32	OklahomaState	1.07	$61,190	$69,141	19%
33	GeorgiaState	1.06	$64,010	$68,533	27%
34	KentuckyState	1.06	$60,490	$68,350	19%
35	MichiganState	1.06	$63,320	$68,602	21%
36	TexasState	1.06	$65,220	$68,222	25%
37	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$64,120	$68,578	24%
38	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$77,520	$67,822	33%
39	IowaState	1.05	$60,540	$67,870	19%
40	South CarolinaState	1.05	$62,160	$67,565	24%
41	KansasState	1.04	$60,600	$67,333	20%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$62,250	$67,080	25%
43	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$69,650	$67,295	27%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.04	$62,370	$67,427	23%
45	ArkansasState	1.03	$57,400	$66,512	18%
46	IllinoisState	1.03	$64,650	$66,376	24%
47	North DakotaState	1.03	$61,640	$66,566	19%
48	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$63,490	$66,273	28%
49	South DakotaState	1.02	$59,870	$65,936	19%
50	TennesseeState	1.02	$60,530	$66,153	25%
51	VirginiaState	1.01	$67,580	$65,295	28%
52	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$68,970	$65,189	29%
53	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.01	$63,120	$65,613	30%
54	North CarolinaState	1.00	$60,920	$64,534	26%
55	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$62,680	$64,619	25%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$62,910	$63,868	33%
57	LouisianaState	0.98	$57,370	$63,674	22%
58	MarylandState	0.98	$68,970	$63,159	29%
59	MontanaState	0.98	$60,970	$63,247	22%
60	WyomingState	0.98	$58,850	$63,280	20%
61	MaineState	0.97	$62,860	$62,986	25%
62	UtahState	0.97	$62,720	$62,595	29%
63	DelawareState	0.95	$62,250	$61,634	26%
64	FloridaState	0.95	$62,440	$61,517	33%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.93	$65,520	$60,387	37%
66	VermontState	0.92	$60,660	$59,180	28%
67	MississippiState	0.91	$49,810	$58,738	22%
68	West VirginiaState	0.90	$49,110	$58,325	20%
69	AlabamaState	0.88	$49,420	$56,739	23%
70	New MexicoState	0.87	$51,780	$56,283	24%
71	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.79	$46,820	$50,891	33%

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