The Best Place To Live on a $100,000 Salary in Every State
America is nothing if not diverse. There are plenty of cities where you can afford to live comfortably, or even be "rich," for less than $100,000. Which location draws your interest could depend on a number of factors, ranging from those that are up-and-coming cities to those that are the best cities to raise a family. Overall, the best cities to live in generally have high livability scores and affordable costs so that you can take home more of your salary.
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GOBankingRates analyzed data from a number of sources, ranging from AreaVibes to Sperling's Best Places and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to compile this list of the best places to live on a $100,000 salary in each state.
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Factors assessed included median incomes, affordability, amenities, and quality of life. This list may draw attention to locations that don't appear on all of the typical "best places" lists but just might be some of the best cities in America.
Last updated: June 22, 2021
Alabama: Madison
Livability score: 89
Median income: $89,522
Total annual necessities cost: $38,796
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Alaska: College
Livability score: 63
Median income: $89,072
Total annual necessities cost: $44,582
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Arizona: Oro Valley
Livability score: 84
Median income: $76,484
Total annual necessities cost: $44,717
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Arkansas: Bentonville
Livability score: 91
Median income: $81,934
Total annual necessities cost: $38,513
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California: Marina del Rey
Livability score: 84
Median income: $112,050
Total annual necessities cost: $69,435
Colorado: Dove Valley
Livability score: 81
Median income: $64,363
Total annual necessities cost: $46,964
Connecticut: Simsbury Center
Livability score: 87
Median income: $108,264
Total annual necessities cost: $47,531
Delaware: Pike Creek
Livability score: 87
Median income: $114,865
Total annual necessities cost: $47,935
Florida: Fleming Island
Livability score: 90
Median income: $91,287
Total annual necessities cost: $45,342
Georgia: Peachtree City
Livability score: 88
Median income: $96,577
Total annual necessities cost: $48,890
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Hawaii: Kaneohe Station
Livability score: 72
Median income: $59,549
Total annual necessities cost: $62,647
Idaho: Ammon
Livability score: 87
Median income: $65,019
Total annual necessities cost: $38,460
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Illinois: Algonquin
Livability score: 88
Median income: $104,532
Total annual necessities cost: $44,742
Indiana: Carmel
Livability score: 93
Median income: $116,867
Total annual necessities cost: $46,677
Iowa: Ankeny
Livability score: 96
Median income: $81,627
Total annual necessities cost: $39,932
Kansas: Prairie Village
Livability score: 90
Median income: $88,635
Total annual necessities cost: $45,595
Kentucky: Fort Thomas
Livability score: 94
Median income: $76,837
Total annual necessities cost: $38,539
Louisiana: Fort Polk South
Livability score: 91
Median income: $43,943
Total annual necessities cost: $28,728
Maine: Belfast
Livability score: 81
Median income: $60,993
Total annual necessities cost: $37,638
Maryland: Bel Air
Livability score: 78
Median income: $51,210
Total annual necessities cost: $46,300
Massachusetts: Clinton
Livability score: 83
Median income: $54,076
Total annual necessities cost: $43,292
Michigan: Grosse Pointe Woods
Livability score: 96
Median income: $97,711
Total annual necessities cost: $42,934
Minnesota: Champlin
Livability score: 93
Median income: $87,692
Total annual necessities cost: $41,900
Mississippi: Petal
Livability score: 84
Median income: $58,539
Total annual necessities cost: $34,128
Missouri: Eureka
Livability score: 93
Median income: $106,000
Total annual necessities cost: $41,481
Montana: Miles City
Livability score: 78
Median income: $54,746
Total annual necessities cost: $31,895
Nebraska: Papillion
Livability score: 97
Median income: $80,853
Total annual necessities cost: $42,528
Nevada: Henderson
Livability score: 85
Median income: $69,940
Total annual necessities cost: $48,581
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New Hampshire: Dover
Livability score: 85
Median income: $70,757
Total annual necessities cost: $43,839
New Jersey: Greentree
Livability score: 86
Median income: $128,797
Total annual necessities cost: $44,741
New Mexico: White Rock
Livability score: 84
Median income: $135,929
Total annual necessities cost: $42,102
New York: Tonawanda
Livability score: 88
Median income: $49,605
Total annual necessities cost: $34,669
North Carolina: Holly Springs
Livability score: 91
Median income: $104,822
Total annual necessities cost: $44,704
North Dakota: West Fargo
Livability score: 90
Median income: $81,051
Total annual necessities cost: $38,089
Ohio: Hilliard
Livability score: 98
Median income: $95,831
Total annual necessities cost: $42,287
Oklahoma: Edmond
Livability score: 92
Median income: $78,692
Total annual necessities cost: $41,184
Oregon: Silverton
Livability score: 82
Median income: $63,810
Total annual necessities cost: $44,919
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Pennsylvania: Dormont
Livability score: 93
Median income: $60,337
Total annual necessities cost: $34,189
Rhode Island: Cranston
Livability score: 78
Median income: $66,283
Total annual necessities cost: $43,263
South Carolina: Mauldin
Livability score: 87
Median income: $65,737
Total annual necessities cost: $35,018
South Dakota: Brandon
Livability score: 89
Median income: $84,075
Total annual necessities cost: $38,928
Tennessee: Collierville
Livability score: 89
Median income: $113,789
Total annual necessities cost: $47,102
Texas: Allen
Livability score: 95
Median income: $106,736
Total annual necessities cost: $45,715
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Utah: Centerville
Livability score: 83
Median income: $90,496
Total annual necessities cost: $47,827
Vermont: Middlebury
Livability score: 80
Median income: $53,150
Total annual necessities cost: $40,179
Virginia: Short Pump
Livability score: 93
Median income: $109,384
Total annual necessities cost: $46,191
Washington: Liberty Lake
Livability score: 88
Median income: $70,658
Total annual necessities cost: $48,205
West Virginia: Teays Valley
Livability score: 87
Median income: $85,708
Total annual necessities cost: $36,263
Wisconsin: De Pere
Livability score: 93
Median income: $70,500
Total annual necessities cost: $38,134
Wyoming: Green River
Livability score: 83
Median income: $70,784
Total annual necessities cost: $40,142
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Andrew Lisa 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 2018 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 2019 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 six necessity categories considered include housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and miscellaneous spending. 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 No. 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, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon. All data was collected on and up to date as of Nov. 23-4, 2020.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Best Place To Live on a $100,000 Salary in Every State
