Best Cities for Zoologists and Wildlife Biologistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where zoologists and wildlife biologistss 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	1.41	$129,940	$108,103	29%
2	MississippiState	1.36	$88,710	$104,611	12%
3	MarylandState	1.28	$107,500	$98,443	19%
4	LouisianaState	1.26	$87,460	$97,070	14%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.22	$107,050	$93,657	24%
6	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.22	$99,490	$94,036	20%
7	IowaState	1.21	$83,000	$93,049	14%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.20	$104,330	$92,491	23%
9	CaliforniaState	1.16	$98,530	$89,006	28%
10	North DakotaState	1.14	$81,330	$87,829	14%
11	AlaskaState	1.13	$90,370	$86,644	18%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$79,010	$86,634	18%
13	MichiganState	1.12	$79,150	$85,753	17%
14	MissouriState	1.12	$76,400	$86,230	16%
15	AlabamaState	1.11	$74,290	$85,293	15%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.10	$96,450	$84,383	27%
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$89,880	$83,377	24%
18	OregonState	1.08	$85,150	$82,670	22%
19	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.08	$79,440	$82,578	24%
20	IllinoisState	1.07	$79,780	$81,910	20%
21	MontanaState	1.07	$78,850	$81,795	17%
22	OhioState	1.07	$74,550	$82,467	17%
23	PennsylvaniaState	1.05	$78,540	$80,969	20%
24	TennesseeState	1.05	$73,570	$80,404	20%
25	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$75,400	$80,642	21%
26	WyomingState	1.04	$74,150	$79,731	16%
27	ColoradoState	1.03	$83,300	$79,032	27%
28	WashingtonState	1.02	$83,780	$78,080	27%
29	HawaiiState	1.01	$84,910	$77,191	34%
30	MassachusettsState	1.01	$84,350	$77,742	32%
31	VermontState	1.01	$79,620	$77,678	21%
32	IdahoState	0.99	$73,360	$76,021	20%
33	New JerseyState	0.99	$83,030	$76,314	26%
34	NevadaState	0.98	$75,180	$75,030	23%
35	MaineState	0.97	$74,490	$74,639	21%
36	New MexicoState	0.97	$68,220	$74,152	18%
37	KansasState	0.96	$66,440	$73,822	19%
38	New YorkState	0.96	$82,640	$73,458	27%
39	UtahState	0.96	$73,920	$73,772	24%
40	WisconsinState	0.96	$68,370	$74,074	19%
41	South DakotaState	0.95	$65,890	$72,566	17%
42	ConnecticutState	0.94	$77,300	$71,840	24%
43	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$83,490	$71,665	33%
44	GeorgiaState	0.92	$66,210	$70,889	26%
45	OklahomaState	0.92	$62,730	$70,881	19%
46	KentuckyState	0.91	$61,950	$70,000	19%
47	MinnesotaState	0.91	$68,620	$70,020	22%
48	South CarolinaState	0.91	$64,090	$69,663	23%
49	VirginiaState	0.91	$72,340	$69,894	26%
50	New HampshireState	0.90	$73,560	$69,396	26%
51	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.90	$66,770	$68,977	29%
52	North CarolinaState	0.89	$64,620	$68,453	24%
53	ArizonaState	0.86	$66,880	$66,283	27%
54	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.86	$75,190	$66,247	41%
55	NebraskaState	0.82	$57,890	$63,268	22%
56	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.80	$61,050	$61,357	29%
57	IndianaState	0.79	$54,670	$60,409	23%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.73	$55,050	$55,888	37%
59	FloridaState	0.68	$52,750	$51,970	39%
60	TexasState	0.67	$49,100	$51,360	34%
61	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.66	$49,100	$50,514	39%
62	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.64	$53,230	$49,060	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).