Investing / Real Estate
6 min Read
Written by Jami Farkas
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Are there any states in the land of opportunity where a $100,000 salary goes the distance? The answer is yes. In fact, there’s a city in every state where that much money allows for comfortable living.
GOBankingRates analyzed data from several sources, including AreaVibes, Sperling’s Best Places and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to compile the best places to live on a $100,000 salary in each state. Factors assessed included each city’s livability score, median household incomes and the total annual cost of necessities.
Read on to find out which cities are best for a $100,000 salary in every state.
Alabama: Florence
- Livability score: 81
- Median income: $47,048
- Total annual necessities cost: $35,114
Alaska: Ketchikan
- Livability score: 76
- Median income: $73,512
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,890
Arizona: Kingman
- Livability score: 80
- Median income: $56,360
- Total annual necessities cost: $40,720
Arkansas: Rogers
- Livability score: 88
- Median income: $78,075
- Total annual necessities cost: $41,090
California: Petaluma
- Livability score: 82
- Median income: $108,527
- Total annual necessities cost: $78,190
Colorado: Eaton
- Livability score: 80
- Median income: $102,314
- Total annual necessities cost: $49,844
Connecticut: Willimantic
- Livability score: 85
- Median income: $45,723
- Total annual necessities cost: $39,731
Delaware: Newark
- Livability score: 83
- Median income: $67,738
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,662
Florida: Seminole
- Livability score: 89
- Median income: $69,417
- Total annual necessities cost: $47,217
Georgia: Decatur
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $129,992
- Total annual necessities cost: $45,727
Hawaii: Waipio Acres
- Livability score: 72
- Median income: $91,703
- Total annual necessities cost: $66,420
Idaho: Chubbuck
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $69,992
- Total annual necessities cost: $42,457
Illinois: Edwardsville
- Livability score: 90
- Median income: $87,094
- Total annual necessities cost: $41,312
Indiana: West Lafayette
- Livability score: 89
- Median income: $30,317
- Total annual necessities cost: $41,483
Iowa: Pella
- Livability score: 89
- Median income: $86,025
- Total annual necessities cost: $37,640
Kansas: Shawnee
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $100,649
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,271
Kentucky: Bellevue
- Livability score: 92
- Median income: $66,741
- Total annual necessities cost: $38,625
Louisiana: Thibodaux
- Livability score: 82
- Median income: $51,704
- Total annual necessities cost: $38,822
Maine: Brunswick
- Livability score: 88
- Median income: $66,696
- Total annual necessities cost: $48,473
Maryland: Perry Hall
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $103,061
- Total annual necessities cost: $49,524
Massachusetts: Easthampton Town
- Livability score: 83
- Median income: $67,329
- Total annual necessities cost: $44,478
Michigan: Clawson
- Livability score: 92
- Median income: $82,713
- Total annual necessities cost: $41,333
Minnesota: Rochester
- Livability score: 92
- Median income: $83,973
- Total annual necessities cost: $41,596
Mississippi: Ocean Springs
- Livability score: 83
- Median income: $72,500
- Total annual necessities cost: $38,351
Missouri: Ballwin
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $118,647
- Total annual necessities cost: $47,705
Montana: Helena
- Livability score: 80
- Median income: $64,798
- Total annual necessities cost: $45,577
Nebraska: Holdrege
- Livability score: 87
- Median income: $58,375
- Total annual necessities cost: $35,129
Nevada: Mesquite
- Livability score: 76
- Median income: $69,146
- Total annual necessities cost: $45,990
New Hampshire: Dover
- Livability score: 88
- Median income: $90,844
- Total annual necessities cost: $48,878
New Jersey: Haddon Heights
- Livability score: 85
- Median income: $117,556
- Total annual necessities cost: $47,878
New Mexico: Los Alamos
- Livability score: 81
- Median income: $130,342
- Total annual necessities cost: $43,171
New York: Niskayuna
- Livability score: 92
- Median income: $125,910
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,297
North Carolina: Black Mountain
- Livability score: 85
- Median income: $75,310
- Total annual necessities cost: $48,757
North Dakota: Fargo
- Livability score: 84
- Median income: $64,432
- Total annual necessities cost: $40,151
Ohio: Worthington
- Livability score: 94
- Median income: $119,408
- Total annual necessities cost: $49,424
Oklahoma: Norman
- Livability score: 83
- Median income: $62,849
- Total annual necessities cost: $39,446
Oregon: Central Point
- Livability score: 90
- Median income: $79,731
- Total annual necessities cost: $47,244
Pennsylvania: Camp Hill
- Livability score: 92
- Median income: $104,959
- Total annual necessities cost: $42,207
Rhode Island: Cranston
- Livability score: 85
- Median income: $83,123
- Total annual necessities cost: $48,783
South Carolina: Mauldin
- Livability score: 84
- Median income: $75,565
- Total annual necessities cost: $38,696
South Dakota: Brandon
- Livability score: 87
- Median income: $101,747
- Total annual necessities cost: $44,268
Tennessee: Clarksville
- Livability score: 81
- Median income: $62,688
- Total annual necessities cost: $40,030
Texas: Seminole
- Livability score: 84
- Median income: $73,074
- Total annual necessities cost: $36,817
Utah: Clinton
- Livability score: 88
- Median income: $102,712
- Total annual necessities cost: $49,718
Vermont: Montpelier
- Livability score: 84
- Median income: $76,143
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,457
Virginia: Lynchburg
- Livability score: 90
- Median income: $56,243
- Total annual necessities cost: $36,658
Washington: Pullman
- Livability score: 86
- Median income: $41,479
- Total annual necessities cost: $44,698
West Virginia: Clarksburg
- Livability score: 82
- Median income: $46,595
- Total annual necessities cost: $31,117
Wisconsin: Wausau
- Livability score: 90
- Median income: $59,259
- Total annual necessities cost: $35,036
Wyoming: Cheyenne
- Livability score: 83
- Median income: $74,989
- Total annual necessities cost: $46,578
John Csiszar, Andrew Lisa and Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this article.
Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned it the article was used.
Methodology: To find the best place to live on a $100,000 salary in every state, GOBankingRates looked at the five cities in every state with the highest livability score from AreaVibes. In addition to each city’s (1) livability score, GOBankingRates also found (2) the median household income in every city according to the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey and (3) the total annual cost of necessities for households with an annual income of $100,000 in each city, calculated by referencing the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey data on spending habits for consumers in the $100,000 to $149,999 income bracket and projecting annual spending in six necessity categories in every city using Sperling’s Best Places’ city-level cost of living index data. The five necessity categories considered include housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, and transportation. Cities where annual necessity spending exceeded $50,000 were then removed from consideration, in order to ensure all cities in the final ranking would be affordable for those with a $100,000 salary following the 50/30/20 rule, which dictates that no more than 50% of income should be allocated to necessities. All remaining cities were then ranked against the others in their state on factors 1-3, with high livability scores, high median household income, and low cost of necessities being scored more favorably, and the highest-scoring city in each state was identified as the best place to live on a $100,000 salary. AreaVibes’ livability scores take into consideration a variety of quality of life indicators, such as crime rates, school quality, employment, amenities, and more. Due to the high cost of living in the following states, consideration was expanded beyond the top five most livable cities: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington. For California and Hawaii, since the cost of living is so high the 50/30/20 rule was lightened. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 10, 2024.
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