“I think it’s intuitive: $US100,000, a six-figure income — it feels like this big milestone, but it also feels very different depending on where you live,” said Susannah Snider, a financial planner and the managing editor of financial education at SmartAsset.
“But to really break it down city-by-city reveals some of the quirks in what a difference where you live makes — and how the tax landscape of where you live really impacts what a six-figure salary feels like.”
Of course, high salaries are more common in New York City than in Memphis. The median household income in New York was a little over $US70,000 in 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. In Memphis, the median household income was about $US44,000.
But high prices, high taxes and astronomical rent, coupled with slowing wage gains and nearly two years of persistent inflation, have prompted many big-city residents to reevaluate. New York City alone lost over 300,000 residents from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the US Census Bureau, and rents are now rising faster than in any other US city.
Taxes are a particular point of concern: state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has cautioned against raising taxes further as New York’s may already be pushing out wealthy residents, who make up an important revenue base.
Many New Yorkers have migrated to low-tax areas, like Texas and Florida, especially as remote work allows for greater freedom to move. It might not be a bad financial decision: Texas claimed seven of SmartAsset’s 10 highest-ranked cities.
Bloomberg
