Best Cities for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where teaching assistants, except postsecondarys 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	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.28	$53,950	$47,200	49%
2	MaineState	1.27	$46,750	$46,844	33%
3	WashingtonState	1.24	$49,120	$45,778	46%
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.24	$45,310	$45,538	39%
5	VermontState	1.16	$43,800	$42,732	39%
6	CaliforniaState	1.14	$46,490	$41,996	58%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.14	$45,280	$42,004	48%
8	District of ColumbiaState	1.12	$46,920	$41,050	54%
9	North DakotaState	1.12	$38,240	$41,296	31%
10	MinnesotaState	1.11	$40,100	$40,918	38%
11	MissouriState	1.11	$36,300	$40,971	34%
12	WisconsinState	1.11	$37,800	$40,953	34%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.11	$49,010	$40,774	77%
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.11	$46,200	$40,957	52%
15	OhioState	1.08	$35,920	$39,735	35%
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$46,240	$39,691	59%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$36,520	$39,353	42%
18	New MexicoState	1.06	$35,900	$39,022	35%
19	WyomingState	1.06	$36,100	$38,817	33%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.06	$35,450	$38,871	41%
21	OregonState	1.05	$39,850	$38,689	48%
22	NebraskaState	1.04	$35,160	$38,426	36%
23	Columbus, OHMetro	1.04	$35,900	$38,396	43%
24	IllinoisState	1.03	$36,990	$37,977	43%
25	MichiganState	1.03	$35,110	$38,039	38%
26	DelawareState	1.02	$37,830	$37,455	43%
27	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$37,220	$37,035	49%
28	UtahState	1.01	$37,050	$36,976	48%
29	VirginiaState	1.01	$38,520	$37,217	49%
30	IdahoState	1.00	$35,560	$36,850	40%
31	IndianaState	1.00	$33,300	$36,796	38%
32	MassachusettsState	0.99	$39,380	$36,295	69%
33	New HampshireState	0.99	$38,440	$36,264	49%
34	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$33,700	$36,432	42%
35	MontanaState	0.98	$34,750	$36,048	39%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$40,930	$36,062	75%
37	AlaskaState	0.97	$37,190	$35,657	44%
38	ArizonaState	0.97	$35,900	$35,580	50%
39	PennsylvaniaState	0.97	$34,740	$35,814	45%
40	ConnecticutState	0.96	$38,110	$35,418	49%
41	West VirginiaState	0.96	$29,800	$35,392	34%
42	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.95	$36,080	$34,860	53%
43	IowaState	0.93	$30,510	$34,204	37%
44	KentuckyState	0.93	$30,160	$34,079	38%
45	New JerseyState	0.93	$37,290	$34,274	58%
46	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$36,200	$34,216	56%
47	ColoradoState	0.92	$35,760	$33,928	62%
48	FloridaState	0.92	$34,430	$33,921	60%
49	MarylandState	0.92	$37,060	$33,938	54%
50	New YorkState	0.92	$38,240	$33,991	58%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$32,620	$33,909	57%
52	ArkansasState	0.91	$28,790	$33,360	37%
53	HawaiiState	0.91	$36,810	$33,464	78%
54	KansasState	0.89	$29,490	$32,767	42%
55	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.89	$35,410	$32,636	69%
56	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.88	$31,480	$32,387	60%
57	NevadaState	0.87	$31,900	$31,836	55%
58	TennesseeState	0.87	$29,210	$31,923	52%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.87	$31,470	$31,949	66%
60	North CarolinaState	0.86	$29,790	$31,557	52%
61	OklahomaState	0.86	$27,920	$31,548	42%
62	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$29,100	$31,630	54%
63	South DakotaState	0.85	$28,220	$31,079	41%
64	TexasState	0.85	$29,850	$31,224	56%
65	GeorgiaState	0.84	$28,770	$30,803	59%
66	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.84	$29,730	$31,033	61%
67	LouisianaState	0.83	$27,400	$30,411	46%
68	MississippiState	0.83	$25,840	$30,472	42%
69	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.83	$29,500	$30,475	66%
70	South CarolinaState	0.82	$27,860	$30,283	54%
71	AlabamaState	0.75	$24,070	$27,635	48%

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