April 18, 2025 (CE Noticias Financieras) –
A recent report by LendingTree, an online financial services comparison platform founded in 1996, revealed that in several U.S. cities, an annual salary of US$100,000 is not enough to cover a family's basic expenses in several cities across the country.
Although this income was historically considered a standard of success for the standard minimum wage, today in certain metropolitan areas, especially in California, it is not enough to live comfortably.
U.S. Cities Where You Can't Live Comfortably
According to the LendingTree study, in 25 major U.S. cities the annual salary of US$100,000 is not enough to maintain a comfortable life, particularly due to high housing costs and other essential expenses. Among these cities are some of the most expensive in the country, such as:
- San Jose, California
- San Francisco, California
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Oxnard, California
- Washington, D.C.
- Los Angeles, California
- San Diego, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Poughkeepsie, New York
- New York, New York
- Riverside, California
- Sacramento, California
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Denver, Colorado
- Stockton, California
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Portland, Oregon
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Fresno, California
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Bakersfield, California
Which U.S. city is the cheapest to live in?
In contrast to the high-cost areas, McAllen, Texas, stood out as the most affordable city in the U.S. study. In this city, a family of three can have a positive monthly balance of US$1,770 after covering all basic expenses, showing that the six-figure salary still allows for a comfortable life in some regions of the country.
The report analyzed the expenses of a typical family of three (two adults and one child) in terms of housing, child care, transportation, insurance, food, entertainment, utilities, federal and state taxes, among others. In cities such as San Jose and San Francisco, costs far exceed this salary, making it difficult for a family to live comfortably without facing financial hardship.
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