“Go where the jobs are” may be considered sound business and financial advice in the current economy, but what if “where those jobs are” costs more than twice the national average to live? In the New York City area, the average pay for full-time civilian workers is 28.51/hour, nearly $6/hour above the national average of $22.71. That might sound nice, but when you take into account that the cost of living in Manhattan is more than twice the national average (216 percent), things aren’t looking so pretty. On the flip side, Indianapolis has a cost of living that’s much lower than the national average (87 percent), but the average wage is equally low at $19.80/hour, meaning you’re only spending less because you’re making less.So where are the best places to live where you can actually spend less and make more? We set out to find the cities across the country where the math adds up—and discovered that plenty do exist. Here are seven U.S. cities where your hard-earned dollars go the furthest.
Related Post: The Fastest-Growing Jobs in America
NOTE: Cost of living figures are from the Census Bureau’s 2010 Cost of Living Index, the most recent data available. Wage info is from the National Compensation Survey, the most recent data available, and includes full-time civilian (or non-military) wages only (wage statistics are hourly, but the survey includes salaried employees, whose rates are converted to hourly for consistency).
Omaha, Nebraska
It’s no surprise that Omaha is consistently ranked a top place to live in publications like Parenting magazine and CNN.com, because this Midwestern city is actually incredibly easy on your wallet. The cost of living is 12 percent below the national average, with housing expenses 21 percent lower. According to Rent.com, average studio apartments cost just $440 per month, while a one-bedroom goes for about $515. To top it off, the average wage for full-time civilians in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area is $24.75 an hour—$2 more than national rates.
Columbus, Ohio
This Ohio city was named the best place in the nation to raise a family by Businessweek in 2009 and it’s not hard to see why. The state capitol has a cost of living that’s 8 percent below the national average, and it’s also about 14 percent below the average for housing (two-bedroom apartments go for about $650-850, according to Rent.com). Full-time civilian wages in the Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe area come out at $22.31/hour, just under the national mean.
Houston, Texas
Another Texas city with big hair and big wages. Full-time civilian workers can expect to make $25.14 in the Houston-Baytown-Huntsville area, and in manufacturing and construction jobs the rate is much higher, at $29.12/hour. It doesn’t hurt that the cost of living is 7.8 percent below the national average, with groceries especially cheap at 15 percent below. That means you can snag a dozen eggs for just $1.52, according to BankRate.com (the average price of eggs in May 2012 was $1.69, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.
DIGITAL JUICE
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank's!