Figuring out where to move next is a pain for anybody who doesn’t already have a job and an apartment lined up.
If you have the opportunity to pick up and start over somewhere new, there are so many factors to take into consideration—and they all have to do with money.
How much will I pay for rent? Will my salary be enough to cover my expenses? Do I want to live in a big city or a small town?
For the most part, people want to live somewhere they can stretch their paycheck, and that means settling down in an area where all your money won’t go toward making rent on time.
With that said, moving somewhere super cheap doesn’t always have as many advantages as you might think.
That city may be inexpensive to rent an apartment, or even buy a home, simply because there are very few job opportunities.
On the other hand, there may be some job opportunities, but none of them pay enough to offset the cost of living.
A new Pew Research Center study is taking all these factors into account to determine the 10 metropolitan cities where American workers earn the most.
Rather than simply listing the cities where Americans earn the highest salaries, however, Pew has adjusted the weekly wages to account for cost of living.
The results were absolutely shocking, with the top city being a place that most Americans would never expect.
Where American Workers Earn the Most and Least
To prepare for the study, Pew reportedly used Regional Price Parities (RPPs), which “measure local price levels in each of the nation’s 381 metropolitan statistical areas,” allowing the company to adjust each region’s average weekly wages.
“High regional price levels can erode the real value of wages, but relatively low prices can effectively offset low wages, at least to some extent,” Pew explains.
Obviously, the greatest shocker on that list is Silicon Valley, where rent and housing prices have been soaring since the tech boom began.
With average salaries of about $1,700 a week, however, it’s clear that those working in Silicon Valley make more than enough money to live there.
Well, there you have it! This list is a great tool to look at before you think of moving anywhere. Depending on your career potential, you may be able to stretch your paycheck further than you thought.
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