You might make less money in Detroit than you would in San Francisco, but your Motor City salary can take you a lot further.
That’s according to Glassdoor’s new list of 25 U.S. cities with the best cost of living ratios—the higher the ratio, the more money people can save (or spend). Glassdoor came up with these ratios after comparing a city’s median base salary to its median home value.
Housing payments, whether they go toward a lease or mortgage, tend to be where people put all their money. For average Americans, it’s their largest financial obligation, making up about a third of their annual spending, according to Glassdoor.
Here are the top five cities where you get the best bang for your buck:
5. Indianapolis
Median Base Salary: $56,000
Median Home Value: $130,200
Cost of Living Ratio: 43%
4. Cleveland
Median Base Salary: $55,000
Median Home Value: $125,500
Cost of Living Ratio: 44%
3. Pittsburgh
Median Base Salary: $56,896
Median Home Value: $126,700
Cost of Living Ratio: 45%
2. Memphis, Tenn.
Median Base Salary: $52,000
Median Home Value: $112,100
Cost of Living Ratio: 46%
1. Detroit
Median Base Salary: $61,500
Median Home Value: $123,100
Cost of Living Ratio: 50%
Unsurprisingly, big cities known for high housing prices have much lower ratios. With a median base salary of $70,000 and a median home value of $384,100, New York’s ratio comes in at 18%. Boston, which has similar figures, has a slightly lower ratio of 17%. And despite the fact San Francisco’s median base salary is $88,000, its median home value is more than double that of New York and Boston at $806,000. This gives the city a low cost of living ratio of just 11%.
While other data factors into total cost of living, Glassdoor chief economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain said in a press release that the “report shows that where you live and how much you earn are directly tied to one another … pay typically goes further in mid-sized cities versus big metropolitan areas where there is often tighter competition for housing.”
You can check out Glassdoor’s full list of the 25 cities in the U.S. where pay goes the furthest.
