Best Cities for Therapists, All Others

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where therapists, all others 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	IllinoisState	1.53	$116,200	$119,302	14%
2	District of ColumbiaState	1.43	$127,010	$111,120	20%
3	South CarolinaState	1.27	$90,980	$98,891	17%
4	Columbus, OHMetro	1.25	$90,720	$97,027	17%
5	NebraskaState	1.22	$86,900	$94,973	14%
6	New JerseyState	1.18	$100,250	$92,142	22%
7	WashingtonState	1.18	$98,550	$91,845	23%
8	HawaiiState	1.16	$99,560	$90,509	29%
9	DelawareState	1.14	$90,120	$89,228	18%
10	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.12	$80,410	$87,402	19%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$98,550	$86,220	27%
12	Rhode IslandState	1.10	$86,400	$85,970	21%
13	KansasState	1.09	$76,740	$85,267	16%
14	KentuckyState	1.09	$75,060	$84,814	15%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$90,130	$83,609	24%
16	West VirginiaState	1.03	$67,580	$80,261	15%
17	OregonState	1.02	$81,860	$79,476	23%
18	AlabamaState	1.01	$68,270	$78,381	17%
19	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.01	$81,170	$78,425	24%
20	OhioState	1.00	$70,700	$78,208	18%
21	TexasState	1.00	$74,750	$78,190	22%
22	MinnesotaState	0.99	$75,360	$76,898	20%
23	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$75,120	$77,284	25%
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$75,350	$75,729	24%
25	CaliforniaState	0.95	$81,760	$73,857	33%
26	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.93	$66,980	$72,177	23%
27	ArkansasState	0.92	$61,920	$71,750	17%
28	LouisianaState	0.92	$64,530	$71,620	19%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.90	$67,330	$70,282	27%
30	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$76,110	$70,147	32%
31	New YorkState	0.89	$77,980	$69,316	28%
32	IndianaState	0.88	$61,720	$68,199	20%
33	MissouriState	0.88	$60,990	$68,837	20%
34	VirginiaState	0.88	$70,890	$68,493	27%
35	OklahomaState	0.87	$60,090	$67,898	19%
36	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.87	$62,840	$67,935	22%
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.87	$76,630	$67,934	31%
38	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$77,610	$66,618	35%
39	New HampshireState	0.84	$69,040	$65,132	28%
40	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.84	$60,000	$65,789	24%
41	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.84	$79,040	$65,757	48%
42	WisconsinState	0.83	$59,420	$64,377	22%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.83	$62,450	$64,514	31%
44	FloridaState	0.82	$64,600	$63,645	32%
45	GeorgiaState	0.82	$59,380	$63,576	29%
46	MassachusettsState	0.82	$69,050	$63,641	39%
47	North CarolinaState	0.82	$60,400	$63,983	26%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.82	$62,310	$64,237	25%
49	ArizonaState	0.81	$63,750	$63,181	28%
50	MichiganState	0.81	$57,970	$62,806	23%
51	TennesseeState	0.80	$56,690	$61,956	27%
52	ColoradoState	0.79	$65,080	$61,746	34%
53	UtahState	0.79	$61,770	$61,647	29%
54	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.79	$69,500	$61,233	44%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.79	$59,390	$61,736	31%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.77	$59,180	$60,081	35%
57	MississippiState	0.67	$44,280	$52,217	24%
58	MarylandState	0.58	$49,400	$45,238	41%
59	ConnecticutState	0.56	$47,300	$43,959	40%
60	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.56	$46,540	$43,989	43%
61	NevadaState	0.49	$38,260	$38,184	46%

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