10 East Coast Cities Where Your Paycheck Goes the Furthest

Living on the East Coast can often be an expensive proposition. States with beachfront properties tend to have rather pricey housing markets and higher cost of living than the rest of the United States. Despite that fact, there are a number of big cities on the East Coast where the median income can be comfortably stretched.

To find those places, GOBankingRates recently studied the top 100 American cities by population and selected the cities in which the median household income was depleted the least by the annual cost of necessities.

States such as Virginia, North Carolina and Florida dominate the top 10 cities, while the entire (rather costly) Northeast is nowhere to be found. As it turns out, paychecks can go the furthest in the Southeast portion of the East Coast.

• Median household income: $66,981
• Annual cost of necessities: $45,538
• What’s left: $21,443

Even though Florida has no state income tax, the annual cost of living there still takes a hefty bite out of the median household income in a city like Jacksonville. Residents there give up 68% of their income to bills and necessities. Thanks to a healthy port industry and a number of large-scale employers such as the Mayo Clinic, though, citizens of Jacksonville make just enough to have $21,443 left over annually.

• Median household income: $73,118
• Annual cost of necessities: $51,438
• What’s left: $21,680

Despite St. Petersburg’s cost of living taking even more of its citizens’ income than Jacksonville (70%, to be specific), residents there keep roughly the same amount of money after bills and mortgages. The median household income of St. Petersburg is also a bit higher, as the city profits from the defense and aerospace industries that spill over from nearby Tampa Bay.

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• Median household income: $81,938
• Annual cost of necessities: $57,525
• What’s left: $24,413

Atlanta’s diverse and healthy economy — everything from data centers to film and TV studios to aerospace manufacturing — keeps the median household income fairly high. Residents on the median income have $24,413 to spend on luxuries and invest in their savings.

• Median household income: $106,287
• Annual cost of necessities: $81,216
• What’s left: $25,071

Obviously, the nation’s capital has an economy driven by connections to the federal government. Tourism and hospitality, information technology, news media — all of these high-paying industries thrive in Washington, D.C. That keeps the median income high enough to withstand the $81,216 in annual expenses that it takes to live in such a prestigious locale.

• Median household income: $78,438
• Annual cost of necessities: $52,581
• What’s left: $25,857

Residents of Charlotte get to keep roughly 33% of their income annually after paying the bills, the rent or the mortgage. While 33% may not sound like much, it adds up to $25,857 per year in money to be spent on travel, vacationing or retirement planning.

• Median household income: $79,234
• Annual cost of necessities: $51,928
• What’s left: $27,306

Durham is financially driven by the medical, software/technology and biopharmaceutical industries. It also is home to Duke University. Those businesses keep the median household income high enough to act as a bulwark against the cost of living — so much so that residents are left with close to $30,000 in income annually.

• Median household income: $82,424
• Annual cost of necessities: $54,764
• What’s left: $27,660

In Raleigh, the cost of living can be pricy at $54,764 per year. Luckily for the city’s residents, however, the median household income is also high at $82,424. That high pay rate allows the citizens of Raleigh to hang on to $27,600 per year — more than enough to fund a healthy savings account, with a little left over for fun spending.

• Median household income: $140,160
• Annual cost of necessities: $104,844
• What’s left: $35,316

While the cost of living in Arlington is high — the median household will spend nearly 75% of its income solely on bills — the median income is also quite high. As a result, residents are left with a not-insignificant $35,316 to invest in things like retirement, travel and luxury.

• Median household income: $90,685
• Annual cost of necessities: $54,621
• What’s left: $36,064

Looking for a beachside city with a high median household income? Don’t feel like spending more than 60% of your income on things like groceries, gas and mortgage costs? Want over $35,000 annually to play with? Consider Virginia Beach as a potentially perfect city for you.

• Median household income: $94,189
• Annual cost of necessities: $54,639
• What’s left: $39,550

Chesapeake offers many of the same amenities and good living as nearby Virginia Beach, but with fewer costs and more money left. Residents get to keep 42% of their annual income after spending $54,639 on the nitty-gritties.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the top 100 cities by population, as sourced from the U.S. Census 2023 American Community Survey. Cost of living was sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the average expenditure cost for all households was sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The average home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index; by assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage was calculated. The average mortgage and expenditures were used to calculate the total cost of living for necessities in each location. Using the median household income, the leftover savings was calculated and sorted to show the largest savings first. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Aug. 18, 2025.