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This amount ofmoneyis quickly becoming a non-negotiable factor for enjoying a good life.
Take a look at the salary needed to achieve the American dream,from highest to lowest annual earnings.
Correction: The original version of this incorrectly calculated cost of living.
The ranking has been updated using correct numbers.
San Jose, California
2.
San Francisco
3.
San Diego
4.
Los Angeles
5.
New York City
6.
Long Beach, California
7.
Seattle
8.
Oakland, California
9.
Boston
10.
Washington, D.C.
11.
Miami
12.
Denver
13.
Portland, Oregon
14.
Austin, Texas
15.
Sacramento, California
16.
Las Vegas
17.
Atlanta
18.
Mesa, Arizona
19.
Nashville, Tennessee
20.
Phoenix
21.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
22.
Raleigh, North Carolina
23.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
24.
Bakersfield, California
25.
Fresno, California
26.
Charlotte, North Carolina
27.
Chicago
28.
Dallas
29.
Arlington, Texas
30.
Minneapolis
31.
Fort Worth, Texas
32.
Tucson, Arizona
33.
Jacksonville, Florida
34.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
35.
Houston
36.
Philadelphia
37.
Omaha, Nebraska
38.
Louisville, Kentucky
39.
Columbus, Ohio
40.
San Antonio
41.
Kansas City, Missouri
42.
Baltimore
43.
Indianapolis
44.
El Paso, Texas
45.
Milwaukee
46.
Oklahoma City
47.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
48.
Wichita, Kansas
49.
Detroit
50.
The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces.
Average expenditure costs were from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.
Home value and mortgage data came from Zillow Home Value Index for January 2025 and Federal Reserve Economic Data.
All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 4, 2025.
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