These Are the U.S. Cities Where High-Earners Have the Most (And Least) Purchasing Power Unsurprisingly, New York, Honolulu, and San Francisco are the three cities where high-earners lose most of their salary to taxes and living expenses. Here's where you can take home the most.
By Madeline Garfinkle •
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A six-figure salary may seem like a lot, but depending on where you live, your take-home pay might only be a quarter of your earnings after accounting for taxes and the cost of living.
A new report by financial technology company SmartAsset found that the purchasing power of a $250,000 salary drastically varied based on location.
The city where a $250,000 salary was worth the least was New York—those six digits dwindled down to a mere $82,421 after factoring in taxes and the cost of living—followed by Honolulu ($82,672) and San Francisco ($82,776).
Related: While Rent Prices Dropped Around the Country, Manhattan Hit a New Record High
The cities where high-earners take home the most of their $250,000 salaries are Memphis, TN which came in at No. 1 with $203,664, followed by El Paso, TX ($200,180), and Oklahoma City, OK ($197,381).
SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to determine the take-home pay of 76 of America's largest cities and then adjusted the take-home amount to factor in the average cost of living for each of the locations. The three cities (New York, Honolulu, and San Francisco) where high-earners lose most of their salary to taxes and other expenses were also the only cities in the report where workers' six-figure salary was reduced to five digits after taxes and costs.
Here are the U.S. cities where the value of a $250,000 salary is worth the most and least.
Where $250,000 goes the furthest:
1. Memphis, TN: $203,664
2. El Paso, TX: $200,180
3. Oklahoma City, OK: $197,381
4. Corpus Christi, TX: $196,594
5. Lubbock, TX: $196,374
Where $250,000 is worth the least:
1. New York, NY: $82,421
2. Honolulu, HI: $82,672
3. San Francisco, CA: $82,776
4. Long Beach, CA and Los Angeles, CA (tie): $101,635
5. Washington, DC: $101,865
