You could be making the exact same salary as someone living in another city and have a significantly different quality of life. Look no further than Silicon Valley for examples, where some well-paid Facebook engineers reside in garages.
To pinpoint exactly how different life can be depending on your zip code, jobs and salary website Indeed did an analysis. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis as well as salary data from 500,000 online submissions, Indeed ranked the top 104 largest metro areas according to the buying power your salary gives you.
"Big salaries and high prices go hand-in-hand," writes Jed Kolko, Indeed's chief economist. It's no surprise, then, that cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles didn't make the list.
The ranking, of course, doesn't take into account how "fun" it might be to live in any of these cities, or how much job growth is occurring. But it highlights some strong options to consider, especially for those who work remotely or are looking to relocate to a more affordable city.
Here are the top 10 metro areas where your salary gets you the most:
10. Toledo, OH
Average salary: $74,424
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $83,435
9. Wichita, KS
Average salary: $75,795
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $83,566
8. Bakersfield, CA
Average salary: $82,142
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $83,904
7. Memphis, TN
Average salary: $76,953
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,102
6. Cincinnati, OH
Average salary: $75,201
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,306
5. El Paso, TX
Average salary: $75,457
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,498
4. St. Louis, MO
Average salary: $76,567
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,511
3. Fresno, CA
Average salary: $82,236
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,604
2. Jackson, MS
Average salary: $76,666
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $84,995
1. Birmingham-Hoover, AL
Average salary: $76,866
Salary adjusted for cost of living: $86,196
Check out the full report here.
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