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.

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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.

Last updated: Sept. 20, 2021

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Alabama: Madison

Livability score: 89
Median income: $89,522
Total annual necessities cost: $38,796

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Alaska: College

Livability score: 63
Median income: $89,072
Total annual necessities cost: $44,582

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Arizona: Oro Valley

Livability score: 84
Median income: $76,484
Total annual necessities cost: $44,717

Arkansas: Bentonville

Livability score: 91
Median income: $81,934
Total annual necessities cost: $38,513

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California: Marina del Rey

Livability score: 84
Median income: $112,050
Total annual necessities cost: $69,435

Colorado: Dove Valley

Livability score: 81
Median income: $64,363
Total annual necessities cost: $46,964

Connecticut: Simsbury Center

Livability score: 87
Median income: $108,264
Total annual necessities cost: $47,531

Delaware: Pike Creek

Livability score: 87
Median income: $114,865
Total annual necessities cost: $47,935

Florida: Fleming Island

Livability score: 90
Median income: $91,287
Total annual necessities cost: $45,342

Georgia: Peachtree City

Livability score: 88
Median income: $96,577
Total annual necessities cost: $48,890

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Hawaii: Kaneohe Station

Livability score: 72
Median income: $59,549
Total annual necessities cost: $62,647

Idaho: Ammon

Livability score: 87
Median income: $65,019
Total annual necessities cost: $38,460

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Illinois: Algonquin

Livability score: 88
Median income: $104,532
Total annual necessities cost: $44,742

Indiana: Carmel

Livability score: 93
Median income: $116,867
Total annual necessities cost: $46,677

Photo by Lynn Betts / USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Iowa: Ankeny

Livability score: 96
Median income: $81,627
Total annual necessities cost: $39,932

Paulmcdonald / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA 3

Kansas: Prairie Village

Livability score: 90
Median income: $88,635
Total annual necessities cost: $45,595

Kentucky: Fort Thomas

Livability score: 94
Median income: $76,837
Total annual necessities cost: $38,539

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Louisiana: Fort Polk South

Livability score: 91
Median income: $43,943
Total annual necessities cost: $28,728

Maine: Belfast

Livability score: 81
Median income: $60,993
Total annual necessities cost: $37,638

Maryland: Bel Air

Livability score: 78
Median income: $51,210
Total annual necessities cost: $46,300

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Massachusetts: Clinton

Livability score: 83
Median income: $54,076
Total annual necessities cost: $43,292

Michigan: Grosse Pointe Woods

Livability score: 96
Median income: $97,711
Total annual necessities cost: $42,934

Lucas Migliorelli / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA 3

Minnesota: Champlin

Livability score: 93
Median income: $87,692
Total annual necessities cost: $41,900

Mississippi: Petal

Livability score: 84
Median income: $58,539
Total annual necessities cost: $34,128

Missouri: Eureka

Livability score: 93
Median income: $106,000
Total annual necessities cost: $41,481

Montana: Miles City

Livability score: 78
Median income: $54,746
Total annual necessities cost: $31,895

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Nebraska: Papillion

Livability score: 97
Median income: $80,853
Total annual necessities cost: $42,528

Nevada: Henderson

Livability score: 85
Median income: $69,940
Total annual necessities cost: $48,581

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New Hampshire: Dover

Livability score: 85
Median income: $70,757
Total annual necessities cost: $43,839

New Jersey: Greentree

Livability score: 86
Median income: $128,797
Total annual necessities cost: $44,741

New Mexico: White Rock

Livability score: 84
Median income: $135,929
Total annual necessities cost: $42,102

New York: Tonawanda

Livability score: 88
Median income: $49,605
Total annual necessities cost: $34,669

North Carolina: Holly Springs

Livability score: 91
Median income: $104,822
Total annual necessities cost: $44,704

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North Dakota: West Fargo

Livability score: 90
Median income: $81,051
Total annual necessities cost: $38,089

Ohio: Hilliard

Livability score: 98
Median income: $95,831
Total annual necessities cost: $42,287

Oklahoma: Edmond

Livability score: 92
Median income: $78,692
Total annual necessities cost: $41,184

Oregon: Silverton

Livability score: 82
Median income: $63,810
Total annual necessities cost: $44,919

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Pennsylvania: Dormont

Livability score: 93
Median income: $60,337
Total annual necessities cost: $34,189

Rhode Island: Cranston

Livability score: 78
Median income: $66,283
Total annual necessities cost: $43,263

South Carolina: Mauldin

Livability score: 87
Median income: $65,737
Total annual necessities cost: $35,018

South Dakota: Brandon

Livability score: 89
Median income: $84,075
Total annual necessities cost: $38,928

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Tennessee: Collierville

Livability score: 89
Median income: $113,789
Total annual necessities cost: $47,102

Texas: Allen

Livability score: 95
Median income: $106,736
Total annual necessities cost: $45,715

Utah: Centerville

Livability score: 83
Median income: $90,496
Total annual necessities cost: $47,827

Vermont: Middlebury

Livability score: 80
Median income: $53,150
Total annual necessities cost: $40,179

Virginia: Short Pump

Livability score: 93
Median income: $109,384
Total annual necessities cost: $46,191

Washington: Liberty Lake

Livability score: 88
Median income: $70,658
Total annual necessities cost: $48,205

West Virginia: Teays Valley

Livability score: 87
Median income: $85,708
Total annual necessities cost: $36,263

Wisconsin: De Pere

Livability score: 93
Median income: $70,500
Total annual necessities cost: $38,134

Wyoming: Green River

Livability score: 83
Median income: $70,784
Total annual necessities cost: $40,142

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Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

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.

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 2018 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 2019 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 necessity 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 No. 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 quality, 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, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon. All data was collected on and up to date as of Nov. 23-24, 2020.