In one of every four large American cities, a family can earn six figures and still feel broke.
That’s the takeaway from an analysis by LendingTree, the personal finance site, which measured monthly expenses in the 100 largest metropolitan areas.
In 25 of those 100 cities, average monthly spending on basic expenses exceeds monthly income for a family of three that is earning $100,000, the report found. San Jose tops the list, with average monthly expenses of $10,540.
In salary terms, $100,000 “used to be a magic number that meant that someone had made it financially. That’s clearly not the case anymore in much of the country,” said Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree. “The fact that you can make six figures and be broke in so many of our biggest cities, even before you factor in debt payments, is definitely troubling. Unfortunately, the problem is only likely to get worse.”
To calculate expenses for a typical family of three, LendingTree looked at average costs to rent a two-bedroom apartment, monthly child care costs, car ownership and other transit costs, health insurance, food, entertainment and utilities, state and federal taxes, payroll taxes and 401(k) contributions.
The report shows the limitations of a six-figure income, a paycheck that is above the national average and would deliver a comfortable lifestyle in at least some parts of the nation. The median household income was $80,610 in 2023.
A $100,000 income means monthly paychecks of $8,333. LendingTree subtracted each city’s monthly expenses from that figure to see what was left: a negative number, in many cases.
Here are some of the least affordable cities
Here is a sampling of cities with monthly expenses that exceed a $100,000 income:
San Francisco: Monthly expenses total $10,137, for a net monthly income of -$1,804
Boston: Monthly expenses, $9,946; net monthly income, -$1,613
Honolulu: Monthly expenses, $9,824; net monthly income, -$1,491
Washington, D.C.: Monthly expenses, $9,767; net monthly income, -$1,434
Seattle: Monthly expenses, $9,376; net monthly income, -$1,043
New York: Monthly expenses: $9,077; net monthly income, -$744
Denver: Monthly expenses, $8,963; net monthly income, -$630
Baltimore: Monthly expenses, $8,842; net monthly income, -$509
Portland, Oregon: Monthly expenses, $8,789; net monthly income, -$456
Minneapolis: Monthly expenses, $8,650; net monthly income, -$317
Hartford, Connecticut: Monthly expenses, $8,423; net monthly income, -$90
. . . And here are some of the most affordable cities
The report also identified 75 large cities where monthly expenses come in below $100,000 a year: well below, in some cases.
Here are some cities that are relatively affordable for a household earning $100,000:
Cleveland, where total monthly expenses would leave a net monthly income of $1,393
Louisville, Kentucky: Net monthly income, $1,281
Memphis, Tennessee: Net monthly income, $1,272
New Orleans: Net monthly income, $1,216
Cincinnati: Net monthly income, $1,207
Milwaukee: Net monthly income, $1,028
Pittsburgh: Net monthly income, $1,025
Indianapolis: Net monthly income, $922
Detroit: Net monthly income, $885
Houston: Net monthly income, $883
Las Vegas: net monthly income, $835
Nashville, Tennessee: Net monthly income, $751
The LendingTree analysis didn’t consider debt payments: student loans, credit cards and the like.
“If we had done that,” the report says, “the number of metros in which six-figure earners are still broke would be far larger.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 25 US cities where a $100,000 salary still doesn’t cut it
