{"h1":"Best cities for healthcare pay after cost of living","faq":[{"a":"Cambridge leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $180k buys at average US prices.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for healthcare pay after cost of living?"},{"a":"24 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 24 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Cambridge leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $180k buys at average US prices.","minN":30,"rows":[{"n":21,"bar":1,"key":"MA|cambridge","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/cambridge","name":"Cambridge","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$190k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"+6%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"21"}],"value":179584.1209829868,"change":null,"employers":["Harvard University","Biogen","Alnylam Pharmaceuticals"],"valueLabel":"$180k"},{"n":60,"bar":0.9898574561403509,"key":"CA|mountain view","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/mountain-view","name":"Mountain View","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$196k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+10%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"60"}],"value":177762.6811594203,"change":null,"employers":["Intuit","Waymo","Google"],"valueLabel":"$178k"},{"n":344,"bar":0.9633946457840102,"key":"CA|san francisco","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-francisco","name":"San Francisco","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$200k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+16%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"344"}],"value":173010.3806228374,"change":null,"employers":["OpenAI","Anthropic","University Of California San Francisco Foundation"],"valueLabel":"$173k"},{"n":41,"bar":0.8637829614604463,"key":"MN|eden prairie","sub":"MN","href":"/places/minnesota/city/eden-prairie","name":"Eden Prairie","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$153k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"41"}],"value":155121.7038539554,"change":null,"employers":["Unitedhealth Group","LHC Group","Illinois Tool Works"],"valueLabel":"$155k"},{"n":32,"bar":0.8144026927784578,"key":"UT|salt lake city","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/salt-lake-city","name":"Salt Lake City","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$145k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"32"}],"value":146253.7917087968,"change":null,"employers":["L3HARRIS Technologies","iCapital","Harris Health Strategic Fund"],"valueLabel":"$146k"},{"n":572,"bar":0.802376834626531,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$162k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"572"}],"value":144094.1385435169,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"$144k"},{"n":32,"bar":0.7983674016846397,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$141k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−2%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"32"}],"value":143374.1080530071,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"$143k"},{"n":79,"bar":0.7983501920268298,"key":"NC|charlotte","sub":"NC","href":"/places/north-carolina/city/charlotte","name":"Charlotte","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$140k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"79"}],"value":143371.0174717369,"change":null,"employers":["Truist Financial","Scout Motors","SMBC Americas"],"valueLabel":"$143k"},{"n":20,"bar":0.791249883144807,"key":"NY|brooklyn","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/brooklyn","name":"Brooklyn","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$160k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"20"}],"value":142095.9147424512,"change":null,"employers":["SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University","Williams-Sonoma","Altana AI"],"valueLabel":"$142k"},{"n":68,"bar":0.7904192160842879,"key":"DC|washington","sub":"DC","href":"/places/district-of-columbia/city/washington","name":"Washington","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$155k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+9%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"68"}],"value":141946.7401285583,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","CACI International","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"$142k"},{"n":105,"bar":0.7842846553002226,"key":"CA|los angeles","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/los-angeles","name":"Los Angeles","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$160k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+14%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"105"}],"value":140845.0704225352,"change":null,"employers":["K2 Space","Cedars-sinai Medical Center","Apex Space"],"valueLabel":"$141k"},{"n":30,"bar":0.7804234828746033,"key":"WA|seattle","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/city/seattle","name":"Seattle","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$156k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+11%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"30"}],"value":140151.6651665166,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Blue Origin","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"$140k"},{"n":59,"bar":0.7712494532730719,"key":"MA|boston","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/boston","name":"Boston","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$150k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+8%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"59"}],"value":138504.1551246537,"change":null,"employers":["Vertex Pharmaceuticals","State Street","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"$139k"},{"n":25,"bar":0.7417967654482566,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$150k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+13%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"25"}],"value":133214.920071048,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"$133k"},{"n":80,"bar":0.6989954023572444,"key":"IL|chicago","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/chicago","name":"Chicago","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$130k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+4%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"80"}],"value":125528.4749034749,"change":null,"employers":["Publicis Groupe","Northern Trust","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"$126k"},{"n":49,"bar":0.6790757381258024,"key":"KY|louisville","sub":"KY","href":"/places/kentucky/city/louisville","name":"Louisville","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$110k"},{"label":"State prices vs US average","value":"−10%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"49"}],"value":121951.2195121951,"change":null,"employers":["BrightSpring Health Services","Norton Healthcare","GE Appliances"],"valueLabel":"$122k"},{"n":30,"bar":0.667219008983585,"key":"CA|san diego","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-diego","name":"San Diego","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$134k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+12%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"30"}],"value":119821.9392314567,"change":null,"employers":["Qualcomm Inc/De","Qualcomm Technologies","General Atomics"],"valueLabel":"$120k"},{"n":42,"bar":0.6481188422073614,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"42"}],"value":116391.8525703201,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"$116k"},{"n":36,"bar":0.6312369703498513,"key":"PA|philadelphia","sub":"PA","href":"/places/pennsylvania/city/philadelphia","name":"Philadelphia","rank":19,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"36"}],"value":113360.1364522417,"change":null,"employers":["Confidential","GSK","Children's Hospital of Philadelphia"],"valueLabel":"$113k"},{"n":25,"bar":0.6263157894736842,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$119k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+6%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"25"}],"value":112476.370510397,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"$112k"},{"n":26,"bar":0.6034621009928473,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":21,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$107k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"−1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"26"}],"value":108372.2109533469,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"$108k"},{"n":27,"bar":0.58956005573374,"key":"GA|atlanta","sub":"GA","href":"/places/georgia/city/atlanta","name":"Atlanta","rank":22,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$106k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+0%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"27"}],"value":105875.6243756244,"change":null,"employers":["Emory University","Oxford College of Emory University","Capgemini Invent"],"valueLabel":"$106k"},{"n":31,"bar":0.546600091710399,"key":"AZ|phoenix","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/phoenix","name":"Phoenix","rank":23,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$101k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+3%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"31"}],"value":98160.69699903195,"change":null,"employers":["Honeywell Aerospace","State of Arizona","American Society for Microbiology"],"valueLabel":"$98k"},{"n":21,"bar":0.5242814667988107,"key":"FL|tampa","sub":"FL","href":"/places/florida/city/tampa","name":"Tampa","rank":24,"stats":[{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$95k"},{"label":"Local prices vs US average","value":"+1%"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"21"}],"value":94152.62636273538,"change":null,"employers":["DTCC","University of South Florida","Tampa Electric"],"valueLabel":"$94k"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-healthcare-pay-vs-cost-of-living","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Best cities for healthcare pay after cost of living","family":"Industry markets","method":["The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.","Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked.","A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T03:57:58.028Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"icpay","sources":["NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states)"],"baseline":{"label":"the typical city in our data","valueLabel":"$148k"},"keyFacts":["#1 Cambridge, MA: $180k","#2 Mountain View, CA: $178k","#3 San Francisco, CA: $173k","24 cities ranked in the United States","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: Cambridge leads on $180k, and #10 Washington is at $142k.","Brooklyn reaches #9 on a sample of 20 openings with pay posted, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 572 openings with pay posted behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-healthcare-pay-vs-cost-of-living"}