A list of U.S. cities that offer the highest income consists of all the big cities you’d expect. But factor in the cost of living in those cities to create an understanding of “real” income, and the list looks very different. This Forbes article from Joel Kotkin highlights some of the cities that top that list, including Houston, San Jose, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Charlotte.
Average pay varies widely among U.S. cities, but those chasing work opportunities would do well to keep an eye on costs as well. Salaries may be higher on the East and West coasts, but for the most part, equally high prices there mean that the fatter paychecks aren’t necessarily getting the locals ahead.
To determine which cities actually offer the highest real incomes, Mark Schill, research director at Praxis Strategy Group, conducted an analysis for Forbes of the 53 largest metropolitan statistical areas, adjusting annual earnings by a cost factor that combines median home values from the U.S. Census (20%) with a measure of regional price differences from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (80%).
The takeaway: When cost of living is factored in, most of the metro areas that offer the highest effective pay turn out to be in the less glitzy middle part of the country.
Ranking first is the Houston-the Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area, followed by one high-cost outlier: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., aka Silicon Valley. Although average wages in the San Jose area are $38,000 higher than Houston’s $60,096, the much lower cost of living in Houston means residents there are effectively slightly better off. Adjusted for costs, Houston’s average real income is $62,136. A big contributing factor is Houston’s low home prices: the ratio of the median home price there ($215,000 in the third quarter) to median annual household income is 3.1, compared to 7.5 in the San Jose area (median 3Q home price: $795,000).
San Jose’s high ranking is somewhat of an anomaly: the very high salaries paid by the tech industry in a metro area made up of largely affluent suburban communities go a long way to make up for the high prices. San Jose’s prices were the third highest among major U.S. metro areas in 2013, the most recent year for which the BEA has data — 21.3% above the national average — while the average annual wage of $98,247 as of this year ranks first.
But for the most part, it’s the low-cost heartland that dominates the top 15 of our ranking of Cities Where Your Salary Stretches The Furthest.
Our paycheck analysis does not impact everyone equally. Given the central role of housing, for example, long-term residents who bought their homes before prices began to rise dramatically can keep a bigger portion of their take-home pay, and if they decide to sell, they’ll benefit greatly from inflated values. More directly impacted may be young adults and immigrants, most of whom do not own their own homes, and often lack the resources to buy in the more expensive markets.
Over time this could influence where young families and singles chose to migrate. Since 2010, according to an upcoming study by Cleveland State’s Center for Population Dynamics, there has been a marked shift of college educated workers aged 25 to 34. While between 2008 and 2010, metro areas like San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Chicago enjoyed the biggest upticks in this coveted population, over the most recently studied period, 2010-13, the leaders were generally less expensive places like Nashville, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Cleveland, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth.
This suggests that areas that have both high-wage jobs and low costs are likely to gain momentum in coming years, particularly if the economy expands. This is not to say that people do not like the excitement and culture associated with San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York, but many may be finding that the price of admission to these fabled places may be too high.
This could be a great opportunity for less-heralded communities, from Arizona and Texas to Ohio, to gain more educated workers and the companies that require them.
