Healthcare · 25 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Speech-Language Pathologist (2024)

The median Speech-Language Pathologist salary is $135,860 in San Jose, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, Charlotte, NC offers the best purchasing power at $102,782 adjusted.

$101,561

National Median

$135,860

Highest City

$82,280

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th–90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$135,860	$83,400 – $164,530	195.8	$69,387	630
2	San Francisco, CA	$130,270	$78,580 – $159,790	179.6	$72,533	1,930
3	New York, NY	$126,330	$74,720 – $165,540	187.2	$67,484	16,820
4	Denver, CO	$111,530	$83,610 – $152,560	112.8	$98,874	2,200
5	Los Angeles, CA	$109,170	$64,910 – $141,360	166	$65,765	4,370
6	San Diego, CA	$107,180	$61,000 – $138,040	160.2	$66,904	1,560
7	Portland, OR	$106,920	$78,930 – $136,780	130.1	$82,183	1,280
8	Seattle, WA	$104,940	$78,170 – $133,760	149.4	$70,241	1,780
9	Boston, MA	$103,100	$65,700 – $128,610	152.1	$67,784	3,610
10	Austin, TX	$102,410	$67,890 – $127,150	103	$99,427	2,200
11	Washington, DC	$101,650	$69,760 – $143,010	152.8	$66,525	2,660
12	Atlanta, GA	$101,620	$66,230 – $122,500	99.2	$102,440	2,590
13	Salt Lake City, UT	$101,140	$67,170 – $127,450	101.4	$99,744	450
14	Philadelphia, PA	$100,080	$64,910 – $131,520	118.4	$84,527	3,570
15	Phoenix, AZ	$100,000	$67,620 – $138,010	100.7	$99,305	2,150
16	Charlotte, NC	$99,390	$60,390 – $139,510	96.7	$102,782	1,410
17	Miami, FL	$98,170	$77,340 – $118,110	123.1	$79,748	2,590
18	Tampa, FL	$97,440	$73,580 – $113,120	99.6	$97,831	1,440
19	Houston, TX	$96,570	$66,540 – $130,970	96.5	$100,073	4,110
20	Minneapolis, MN	$86,630	$55,020 – $108,620	106.2	$81,573	2,510
21	Dallas, TX	$85,920	$65,740 – $134,870	104.1	$82,536	4,990
22	Chicago, IL	$83,990	$54,750 – $121,610	107.3	$78,276	7,210
23	Nashville, TN	$83,970	$53,180 – $110,410	100.3	$83,719	1,010
24	Detroit, MI	$82,460	$61,050 – $108,460	95.1	$86,709	1,800
25	Raleigh, NC	$82,280	$60,690 – $134,290	99.8	$82,445	780

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Speech-Language Pathologist paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	Charlotte, NC	$102,782	$99,390	96.7
2	Atlanta, GA	$102,440	$101,620	99.2
3	Houston, TX	$100,073	$96,570	96.5
4	Salt Lake City, UT	$99,744	$101,140	101.4
5	Austin, TX	$99,427	$102,410	103
6	Phoenix, AZ	$99,305	$100,000	100.7
7	Denver, CO	$98,874	$111,530	112.8
8	Tampa, FL	$97,831	$97,440	99.6
9	Detroit, MI	$86,709	$82,460	95.1
10	Philadelphia, PA	$84,527	$100,080	118.4
11	Nashville, TN	$83,719	$83,970	100.3
12	Dallas, TX	$82,536	$85,920	104.1
13	Raleigh, NC	$82,445	$82,280	99.8
14	Portland, OR	$82,183	$106,920	130.1
15	Minneapolis, MN	$81,573	$86,630	106.2
16	Miami, FL	$79,748	$98,170	123.1
17	Chicago, IL	$78,276	$83,990	107.3
18	San Francisco, CA	$72,533	$130,270	179.6
19	Seattle, WA	$70,241	$104,940	149.4
20	San Jose, CA	$69,387	$135,860	195.8
21	Boston, MA	$67,784	$103,100	152.1
22	New York, NY	$67,484	$126,330	187.2
23	San Diego, CA	$66,904	$107,180	160.2
24	Washington, DC	$66,525	$101,650	152.8
25	Los Angeles, CA	$65,765	$109,170	166

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median Speech-Language Pathologist salary at $135,860. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Charlotte, NC offers the most purchasing power at $102,782 adjusted.

The national median Speech-Language Pathologist salary is $101,561 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $82,280 to $135,860 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above — cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.