The Best Place To Live on a $100,000 Salary in Every State

America is nothing if not diverse. There are plenty of cities where you can afford to live comfortably, or even be “rich,” for less than $100,000. Which location draws your interest could depend on a number of factors, ranging from those that are up-and-coming cities to those that are the best cities to raise a family. Overall, the best cities to live in generally have high livability scores and affordable costs so that you can take home more of your salary.

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GOBankingRates analyzed data from a number of sources, ranging from AreaVibes to Sperling’s Best Places and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to compile this list of the best places to live on a $100,000 salary in each state.

Factors assessed included median incomes, affordability, amenities, and quality of life. This list may draw attention to locations that don’t appear on all of the typical “best places” lists but just might be some of the best cities in America.

• Livability score: 89
• Median income: $94,214
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,946

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• Livability score: 68
• Median income: $69,724
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,189

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $99,154
• Total annual necessities cost: $49,065

• Livability score: 81
• Median income: $85,531
• Total annual necessities cost: $35,621

• Livability score: 82
• Median income: $46,449
• Total annual necessities cost: $52,539

• Livability score: 83
• Median income: $72,515
• Total annual necessities cost: $48,530

• Livability score: 85
• Median income: $109,245
• Total annual necessities cost: $48,644

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $121,750
• Total annual necessities cost: $48,918

• Livability score: 91
• Median income: $101,685
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,199

• Livability score: 90
• Median income: $100,768
• Total annual necessities cost: $49,673

• Livability score: 73
• Median income: $103,389
• Total annual necessities cost: $71,602

• Livability score: 85
• Median income: $61,442
• Total annual necessities cost: $38,808

• Livability score: 88
• Median income: $107,500
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,515

• Livability score: 89
• Median income: $89,089
• Total annual necessities cost: $38,067

• Livability score: 97
• Median income: $89,484
• Total annual necessities cost: $40,968

• Livability score: 94
• Median income: $88,196
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,690

• Livability score: 95
• Median income: $80,549
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,364

• Livability score: 90
• Median income: $50,878
• Total annual necessities cost: $29,438

• Livability score: 83
• Median income: $81,354
• Total annual necessities cost: $48,177

• Livability score: 81
• Median income: $75,392
• Total annual necessities cost: $45,195

• Livability score: 80
• Median income: $87,959
• Total annual necessities cost: $51,723

• Livability score: 95
• Median income: $93,038
• Total annual necessities cost: $40,623

• Livability score: 92
• Median income: $96,469
• Total annual necessities cost: $42,692

• Livability score: 86
• Median income: $57,565
• Total annual necessities cost: $34,969

• Livability score: 93
• Median income: $97,174
• Total annual necessities cost: $43,364

• Livability score: 83
• Median income: $47,541
• Total annual necessities cost: $35,234

• Livability score: 93
• Median income: $90,000
• Total annual necessities cost: $43,538

• Livability score: 84
• Median income: $75,430
• Total annual necessities cost: $49,347

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $78,733
• Total annual necessities cost: $43,931

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $130,063
• Total annual necessities cost: $45,849

• Livability score: 84
• Median income: $128,723
• Total annual necessities cost: $43,342

• Livability score: 89
• Median income: $76,784
• Total annual necessities cost: $32,491

• Livability score: 89
• Median income: $110,758
• Total annual necessities cost: $45,677

• Livability score: 91
• Median income: $87,674
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,098

• Livability score: 97
• Median income: $105,373
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,301

• Livability score: 88
• Median income: $84,223
• Total annual necessities cost: $42,024

• Livability score: 79
• Median income: $45,573
• Total annual necessities cost: $35,313

• Livability score: 92
• Median income: $57,279
• Total annual necessities cost: $34,812

• Livability score: 81
• Median income: $94,773
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,211

• Livability score: 86
• Median income: $67,902
• Total annual necessities cost: $36,085

• Livability score: 92
• Median income: $93,536
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,976

• Livability score: 88
• Median income: $117,327
• Total annual necessities cost: $48,045

• Livability score: 96
• Median income: $130,735
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,591

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $70,552
• Total annual necessities cost: $42,297

• Livability score: 79
• Median income: $76,845
• Total annual necessities cost: $46,977

• Livability score: 90
• Median income: $63,947
• Total annual necessities cost: $37,352

• Livability score: 86
• Median income: $96,051
• Total annual necessities cost: $49,167

• Livability score: 87
• Median income: $88,865
• Total annual necessities cost: $37,043

• Livability score: 91
• Median income: $73,972
• Total annual necessities cost: $39,179

• Livability score: 85
• Median income: $54,928
• Total annual necessities cost: $37,262

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John Csiszar and Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article. 

Methodology: To find the best place to live on a $100,000 salary in every state, GOBankingRates looked at the five cities in every state with the highest livability score from AreaVibes. In addition to each city’s (1) livability score, GOBankingRates also found (2) the median household income in every city according to the Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey and (3) the total annual cost of necessities for households with an annual income of $100,000 in each city, calculated by referencing the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey data on spending habits for consumers in the $100,000 to $149,999 income bracket and projecting annual spending in six necessity categories in every city using Sperling’s Best Places’ city-level cost of living index data. The six neccesity categories considered include housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and miscellaneous spending. Cities where annual necessity spending exceeded $50,000 were then removed from consideration, in order to ensure all cities in the final ranking would be affordable for those with a $100,000 salary following the 50/30/20 rule, which dictates that no more than 50% of income should be allocated to necessities. All remaining cities were then ranked against the others in their state on factors 1-3, with high livability scores, high median household income, and low cost of necessities being scored more favorably, and the highest-scoring city in each state was identified as the best place to live on a $100,000 salary. AreaVibes’ livability scores take into consideration a variety of quality of life indicators, such as crime rates, school qulaity, employment, amenities, and more. Due to the high cost of living in the following states, consideration was expanded beyond the top five most livable cities: California, Colorado, Hawii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Oregon. For California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, since cost of living is so high the 50/30/20 rule was lightened. All data was collected on and up to date as of August 16, 2022.

Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned it the article was used.