Best Cities for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondarys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where teaching assistants, 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	TexasState	1.36	$55,670	$58,232	30%
2	KentuckyState	1.31	$49,680	$56,136	23%
3	OklahomaState	1.31	$49,920	$56,407	23%
4	MinnesotaState	1.27	$53,380	$54,469	29%
5	North DakotaState	1.26	$49,960	$53,952	23%
6	OhioState	1.26	$48,710	$53,883	26%
7	MarylandState	1.24	$58,330	$53,416	35%
8	North CarolinaState	1.24	$50,050	$53,019	31%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.23	$52,660	$52,925	34%
10	GeorgiaState	1.22	$48,800	$52,248	35%
11	New MexicoState	1.22	$48,270	$52,467	26%
12	UtahState	1.22	$52,300	$52,196	34%
13	MassachusettsState	1.21	$56,370	$51,954	48%
14	WisconsinState	1.21	$47,990	$51,993	27%
15	Columbus, OHMetro	1.21	$48,710	$52,096	32%
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.21	$58,330	$51,711	41%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.19	$46,430	$50,910	31%
18	South CarolinaState	1.18	$46,760	$50,826	32%
19	New JerseyState	1.16	$54,260	$49,871	40%
20	ArizonaState	1.15	$49,810	$49,366	36%
21	Rhode IslandState	1.15	$49,420	$49,174	37%
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.15	$47,940	$49,525	40%
23	OregonState	1.12	$49,550	$48,107	39%
24	VirginiaState	1.12	$49,890	$48,203	38%
25	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.12	$46,920	$48,272	41%
26	VermontState	1.11	$48,620	$47,434	35%
27	MaineState	1.10	$47,210	$47,305	33%
28	WashingtonState	1.10	$50,460	$47,027	45%
29	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$50,050	$47,306	40%
30	KansasState	1.08	$41,580	$46,200	30%
31	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$49,550	$45,965	43%
32	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$43,490	$45,397	41%
33	CaliforniaState	1.03	$49,140	$44,390	55%
34	IowaState	1.02	$38,960	$43,677	29%
35	South DakotaState	1.02	$39,840	$43,877	29%
36	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.02	$49,760	$43,841	62%
37	MichiganState	1.01	$39,830	$43,153	34%
38	NebraskaState	1.01	$39,650	$43,333	32%
39	West VirginiaState	1.00	$35,960	$42,708	28%
40	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$48,380	$42,327	55%
41	LouisianaState	0.98	$37,950	$42,120	33%
42	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.97	$38,620	$41,616	40%
43	TennesseeState	0.94	$36,950	$40,383	41%
44	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.94	$37,300	$40,324	38%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$37,030	$40,250	42%
46	PennsylvaniaState	0.91	$38,020	$39,196	41%
47	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$38,260	$38,843	54%
48	IdahoState	0.90	$37,310	$38,663	39%
49	IndianaState	0.90	$34,910	$38,575	36%
50	New YorkState	0.90	$43,610	$38,764	51%
51	District of ColumbiaState	0.88	$43,160	$37,760	58%
52	FloridaState	0.87	$37,770	$37,212	55%
53	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.87	$38,500	$37,198	50%
54	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.87	$45,110	$37,529	84%
55	IllinoisState	0.86	$36,040	$37,002	44%
56	ColoradoState	0.83	$37,450	$35,531	59%
57	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.83	$38,510	$35,493	64%
58	AlaskaState	0.80	$35,790	$34,314	46%
59	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.80	$39,940	$34,283	68%
60	MontanaState	0.73	$30,070	$31,193	45%
61	ArkansasState	0.62	$23,140	$26,813	46%
62	AlabamaState	0.60	$22,600	$25,947	51%
63	New HampshireState	0.59	$26,810	$25,292	71%
64	NevadaState	0.58	$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).