The headquarters for PennWell Corp., which publishes Dental Economics, RDH, and a variety of digital newsletters, is housed in a rectangular building. The long sides of the building face north and south. The south side isn’t too bad, except when the summertime afternoon sun forces air conditioning to work overtime. The windows on the north side during the winter, though, don’t offer much to thwart the breezes sent courtesy of North Dakota.
Even with the heater cranked all the way up, a dental hygienist probably wouldn’t want to work in an operatory along those north side windows.
The frightful weather outside is enough to make us rank 80 U.S. cities based on the income power of dental hygienists and that wintertime climate.
Let’s see where Tulsa ranks in matching up the cold weather outside with the radiant warmth of earning a good living.
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Additional Reading
RDH eVillage Salary Survey, part 4: Most common hourly rates for hygienists in 39 states
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Yes, we know that delivering excellent care to patients (and having a job) is much more important than the temperature outside. But it sure would be nice if we didn’t have to chip icicles off our fingernails just to squeeze into exam gloves. So, just for grins, climate is weighted evenly against the income power of dental hygienists.
Hint: Very few people have snow tires in Tulsa.
Suggestion: Layer up and stay warm while reading this article.
We feel bad about New Orleans not being in this ranking. We couldn’t find all of the needed data. We recognize the religious factors behind the timing of Mardi Gras parades. But the Crescent City’s moderate temperatures around Fat Tuesday are another positive aspect to standing outside on Bourbon Street and collecting beads.
The weather rankings are based on averages for both January and February in every metropolitan area below. We’re not going to offend a northerner by talking about “wind chills.” But even they have to admit that cold temperatures are more tolerable when wind isn’t blowing, so the average wintertime wind speed is one of the three weather factors. Snowfall, of course, is statistically measured, but we opted to focus on the average number of days with precipitation during January and February, regardless of whether it freezes or not. After all, Seattle is famous (in the psychological mental depression sense) for its unending rainy days in the winter.
Alaska does not have any cities in the top 100 metropolitan areas (Juneau, though, is included in this ranking). The cost-of-living index for Anchorage is 128.4, and the lowest recorded temperature for the city is minus 34 degrees. Do you need to know more?
The income power for dental hygienists is calculated by comparing cost of living with the median dental hygiene salary for each city.
As mentioned above, income power comprises half of the score for the overall rankings below. Income, of course, is always a very influential factor about the location where a dental hygienist works.
The weather accounts for the other half of the overall ranking, broken down by the low average temperature during January and February (one-fourth of the score), wintertime wind speed (one-eighth of the score), and average number of days of precipitation (one-eighth of the score).
Icons are placed beside cities ranking in the top 10 for each category:
7. (tie) Austin, TX
Average morning low in January and February: 42 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 16 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 11th
15. Charlotte, NC
Average morning low in January and February: 31 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 19 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 22nd
16. San Antonio, TX
Average morning low in January and February: 42 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 15 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 32nd
19. Greenville, SC
Average morning low in January and February: 32 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 23rd
21. Boise, ID
Average morning low in January and February: 27 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 19th
22. (tie) Nashville, TN
Average morning low in January and February: 30 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 22 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 17th
25. (tie) Raleigh, NC
Average morning low in January and February: 32 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 19 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 34th
27. Columbus, OH
Average morning low in January and February: 24 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 16 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 18th
28. (tie) Springfield, MO
Average morning low in January and February: 24 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 16 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 16th
28. (tie) Flagstaff, AZ
Average morning low in January and February: 21 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 7 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 12 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 29th
31. Des Moines, IA
Average morning low in January and February: 24 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 15 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 15th
34. St. Louis, MO
Average morning low in January and February: 26 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 17 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 24th
36. Memphis, TN
Average morning low in January and February: 33 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 36th
37. Indianapolis, IN
Average morning low in January and February: 22 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 22 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 13th
38. (tie) Baton Rouge, LA
Average morning low in January and February: 43 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 51st
Average morning low in January and February: 47 degrees Average wintertime wind speed: 7 mph Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 22 days Income power ranking (out of 80): 54th
Average morning low in January and February: 29 degrees Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 5 days Income power ranking (out of 80): 53rd
41. Atlanta, GA
Average morning low in January and February: 36 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 38th
42. Shreveport, LA
Average morning low in January and February: 38 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 17 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 50th
43. Baltimore, MD
Average morning low in January and February: 26 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 19 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 35th
45. Salt Lake City, UT
Average morning low in January and February: 23 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 39th
46. Cincinnati, OH
Average morning low in January and February: 24 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 31st
47. Kansas City, MO
Average morning low in January and February: 22 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 11 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 40th
48. Louisville, KY
Average morning low in January and February: 28 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 47th
49. Missoula, MT
Average morning low in January and February: 29 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 5 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 43rd
50. Charleston, SC
Average morning low in January and February: 39 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 9 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 18 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 65th
52. Harrisburg, PA
Average morning low in January and February: 24 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 48th
53. Fayetteville, AR
Average morning low in January and February: 28 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 12 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 68th
54. (tie) Jackson, MS
Average morning low in January and February: 39 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 74th
57. Little Rock, AR
Average morning low in January and February: 33 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 18 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 73rd
60. Birmingham, AL
Average morning low in January and February: 36 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 8 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 76th
62. (tie) Washington, D.C.
Average morning low in January and February: 18 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 19 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 78th
67. Philadelphia, PA
Average morning low in January and February: 27 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 10 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 20 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 68th
Average morning low in January and February: 23 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 13 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 22 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 57th
78. Providence, RI
Average morning low in January and February: 22 degrees
Average wintertime wind speed: 11 mph
Average number of days with precipitation in January and February: 21 days
Income power ranking (out of 80): 71st
