30 U.S. Cities Where Salaries Go the Furthest

30-us.-cities-where-salaries-go-the-furthest

When is a $71,000 salary better than an $86,000 salary? When you adjust for cost of living.

When is a $71,000 salary better than an $86,000 salary? When you adjust for cost of living.

When you’re weighing job offers in a new city, the highest salary is a critical deciding factor. But you also think about whether you want to live there—and how affordable the city is.

The average salary in San Francisco is $86,212, according to CashNetUSA, which sounds pretty good until you look at rents and home prices there. When adjusted for cost of living, it’s like making $22,114 less. You have to wonder: Is it enough? Will you be able to cover expenses, have a life, and set money aside for retirement?

By finding the average starting salary in cities around the country, then adjusting each for cost of living, personal finance site CashNetUSA found the cities where salaries go furthest. Small cities tend to be less expensive, but salaries tend to be lower. The average worker in a city with a population under 250,000 effectively makes an extra $5,000 when living costs are factored in, their study found.

So when is a $71,000 salary better than an $86,000 salary? When you compare San Francisco to Alexandria, Va. Alexandria tops this list of cities where salary goes the furthest: the city has low unemployment and an average salary of $71,572. Adjusted for cost of living, that’s like making $83,809, according to their calculations. That’s $12,237 more.

To determine the cities where the average salary goes furthest, CashNetUSA pulled cost of living data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, including regional price parity values by metro, and city salary data from Payscale and then adjusted salaries according to the cost of living data. These are the top cities to stretch your salary, in order of the highest adjusted salaries.

1. Alexandria, Va.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $83,809

Avg. salary: $71,572

2. Kokomo, Ind.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $76,862

Avg. salary: $65,640

3. Santa Fe, N.M.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $74,567

Avg. salary: $72,330

4. Columbus, Ga.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $73,033

Avg. salary: $64,708

5. Huntsville, Ala.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $71,194

Avg. salary: $63,363

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6. Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $70,725

Avg. salary: $67,048

7. St. Louis

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $69,833

Avg. salary: $62,920

8. Columbus, Ind.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $69,625

Avg. salary: $61,758

9. Fond du Lac, Wis.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $69,624

Avg. salary: $61,130

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10. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $69,265

Avg. salary: $65,386

11. Rochester, Minn.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $68,746

Avg. salary: $63,865

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12. Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $68,510

Avg. salary: $60,837

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13. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $67,418

Avg. salary: $59,530

14. Morgantown, W.V.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $67,046

Avg. salary: $60,207

15. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,788

Avg. salary: $64,183

16. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Ga.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,758

Avg. salary: $65,356

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17. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,728

Avg. salary: $67,529

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18. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,543

Avg. salary: $60,621

19. Bloomington, Ill.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,316

Avg. salary: $60,746

20. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, Conn.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $66,214

Avg. salary: $67,869

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21. Canton-Massillon, Ohio

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,976

Avg. salary: $56,212

22. Grand Forks, N.D.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,649

Avg. salary: $58,690

23. Boulder, Colo.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,607

Avg. salary: $70,003

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24. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,389

Avg. salary: $82,848

25. Midland, Mich.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,278

Avg. salary: $58,163

26. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,253

Avg. salary: $60,881

27. Dayton-Kettering, Ohio

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,137

Avg. salary: $57,060

28. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $65,057

Avg. salary: $64,602

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29. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $64,750

Avg. salary: $61,124

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30. Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.

Salary adjusted for cost of living: $64,683

Avg. salary: $58,474

Check out the full list, and compare cities at CashNetUSA.


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