$100K goes the furthest in these US cities, study finds

(NEXSTAR) — Years ago, a $100,000 salary may have been a lot of money. But today, amid inflation and the costs of housing, food, and more reaching highs we haven’t seen before, $100,000 may not feel as hefty as it once did.

How far $100,000 goes in 2024 will depend on where you live, a new study finds.

Personal finance website SmartAsset reviewed how federal, state, and local taxes impact a $100,000 salary in 72 of the U.S.’s largest cities, and took into account the local cost of living in those cities to find what that salary would be worth across the country.

Overall, the study found on average, a $100,000 salary is worth about $70,700 across the nation’s biggest cities. It has the greatest purchasing power in cities throughout the South and into the Midwest. Alternatively, $100,000 had the lowest purchasing power in cities in the West and Northeast.

An annual salary of $100,000 is worth the most in El Paso, Texas, SmartAsset determined. With no state or local income tax, and a lower cost of living, the six-figure income has the purchasing power of $88,840.

Oklahoma City wasn’t far behind — the study found $100,000 has the purchasing power of almost $87,600 in Oklahoma’s capitol. Texas, however, had the most cities in the top 10 when ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest.

Here are those 10 cities, as well as the purchasing power, courtesy of SmartAsset:

1. El Paso, Texas: $88,840
2. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $87,585
3. Memphis, Tennessee: $86,960
4. Corpus Christi, Texas: $86,383
5. San Antonio, Texas: $85,625
6. Lubbock, Texas: $85,065
7. Tulsa, Oklahoma: $84,507
8. Jacksonville, Florida: $83,878
9. Houston, Texas: $82,986
10. St. Louis, Missouri: $82,614

As we mentioned, you’ll find less wiggle room with a $100,000 salary in cities in the West and Northeast.

SmartAsset found that $100,000 has the lowest purchasing power — just $30,914 — in New York City. That’s far lower than the second-lowest city, Honolulu, where $100,000 is worth roughly $39,000.

Cities in California and New York were the most prevalent on the lower end of SmartAsset’s report (SmartAsset does rank Brooklyn and Queens as their own cities, despite being boroughs of New York City).

1. New York City, New York: $30,914
2. Honolulu, Hawaii: $39,148
3. San Francisco, California: $40,997
4. Brooklyn, New York: $43,376
5. Los Angeles, California: $47,762
6. Washington, District of Columbia: $48,734
7. Queens, New York: $49,978
8. San Diego, California: $50,082
9. Boston, Massachusetts: $50,109
10. Oakland, California: $51,237

This SmartAsset study, which can be viewed in full here, is in line with other recent studies that show just how impactful inflation has been.

A recent analysis by a group of Congressional Republicans shows the impact of inflation on the average household in every state. (While the joint committee is chaired by a Democrat, the report and data was put out by the committees’ Republican members.) The report uses January 2021 as a benchmark “because it was the last time inflation was within recent historical norms.”

The report claims most American households would need to need to spend an additional $10,000 or more just to afford the same goods and quality of life they had less than three years ago.

It also doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Wholesale prices in the United States picked up in January, the latest sign that some inflation pressures in the economy remain elevated.

The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.3% from December to January after having fallen -0.1% from November to December. Measured year over year, producer prices rose by a mild 0.9% in January.

The Associated Press and Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.