10 Cities With High Salaries and the Best Work-Life Balance in 2025
Written by
Caitlyn Moorhead
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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Finding a city that offers both a high salary and a healthy work-life balance is the ultimate goal for many professionals. In fact, it is often the new filter through which a majority of middle-class people view the American Dream.
Suppose you are looking to move and seek an area where you can avoid long commutes, high stress and limited personal time. Are there places in the U.S. where you can boost your earning potential, enjoy a more balanced lifestyle and combat the rising cost of living? To identify these ideal locations, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to find cities where the median household income is at least 120% of the national average, and where total work time, including commuting, is relatively low.
Here are 10 cities with high salaries and the best work-life balance, ranked in reverse order.
10. Princeton, New Jersey
- Total population: 30,451
- Household median income: $184,113
- Amount above the national average income ($): $105,575
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 39.3
New Jersey is a great state when you are looking for East Coast vibes but want a little more bang for your buck. Princeton has excellent public schools, a vibrant downtown food scene and beautiful outdoor spaces. It provides a balance of a small-town feel with a suburban atmosphere, while still offering convenient access to major cities like New York and Philadelphia.
9. Blackwells Mills, New JerseyÂ
- Total population: 10,220
- Household median income: $248,149
- Amount above the national average income ($): $169,611
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 42.4
Situated in central New Jersey, Blackwells Mills is another city with relatively short commutes and reliable transit systems to major employment hubs and cultural attractions in both New York City and Philadelphia. The area offers a nice range of housing options and relatively competitive real estate prices.
8. Dunn Loring, Virginia
- Total population: 8,782
- Household median income: $236,563
- Amount above the national average income ($): $158,025
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 41.5
The small town of Dunn Loring, with a population under 10,000 residents, boasts one of the highest median incomes in the country. The suburb of Washington D.C. lies west of Arlington, across the Potomac River from where many of its residents work.
7. Arden Hills, MinnesotaÂ
- Total population: 9,737
- Household median income: $128,668
- Amount above the national average income ($): $50,130
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 35.2
You will have a high quality of life, strong schools, and a combination of quiet suburban living with proximity to Minneapolis and St. Paul if you decide to land in Arden Hills. The city is recognized for its numerous parks, lakes and trails, as well as a strong business community and established neighborhoods.
6. Highland, UtahÂ
- Total population: 19,625
- Household median income: $178,662
- Amount above the national average income ($): $100,124
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 37.8
Highland offers a family-friendly environment with a strong sense of community. The city is situated in a scenic area with beautiful views, large lot sizes to get more room in your real estate and a lower property tax rate than the national and state medians. Its proximity to the Silicon Slopes tech hub provides a growing economy and job opportunities as well.
5. Granville, OhioÂ
- Total population: 5,916
- Household median income: $123,860
- Amount above the national average income ($): $45,322
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 34
The benefits of living in Granville are plentiful and include a picturesque downtown, a rich history and abundant parks and recreational opportunities like golf and hiking. The town is home to the liberal arts college Denison University, and the surrounding area has a suburban feel with mostly homeowners enjoying a cost of living that is slightly lower than the national average.
4. George Mason, Virginia
- Total population: 9,954
- Household median income: $154,479
- Amount above the national average income ($): $75,941
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 35.5
Incomes in George Mason are lower than most of the biggest-earning cities on this list, but they’re still much higher than the national average. Considering the total work time in George Mason is just a touch below a full-time workload, the household median income is actually exceptionally high. Employment in the small city is dominated by its namesake university.
3. South Hill, New York
- Total population: 6,805
- Household median income: $112,437
- Amount above the national average income ($): $33,899
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 32.1
South Hill is something of an outlier in this list. Household median incomes in the city are not as much over the national average here, but its average total work time is exceedingly low. So if you’re looking for a city where you only need to put in about 30 hours per week and you can still earn over $100,000 per year, this could be the place for you.
2. Durham, New HampshireÂ
- Total population: 10,577
- Household median income: $109,934
- Amount above the national average income ($): $31,396
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 29.8
Durham boasts a low crime rate and a strong education system due to the presence of the University of New Hampshire. It also gives you access to abundant recreational opportunities, including proximity to the coast, mountains and rivers. New Hampshire also provides statewide tax advantages, such as no sales or income tax.
1. Montecito, California
- Total population: 8,823
- Household median income: $222,266
- Amount above the national average income ($): $144,428
- Total work time (usual hours worked + travel time to work): 35.5
If you’re looking for stunning natural beauty, a Mediterranean climate, a safe and tranquil atmosphere and proximity to both the ocean and mountains, then Montecito has you more than covered. It also provides access to high-quality schools, upscale dining, designer shopping experiences, potential hobnobbing with celebrities and a high degree of privacy due to large estates and privacy laws.
Methodology: To find the cities with high salaries and the best work-life balance, GOBankingRates gathered a list of U.S. cities along with [1] median household income, [2] usual hours worked, and [3] mean commuting times, all sourced from the 2023 American Consumer Survey as conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The national median household income was sourced from the 2023 ACS and was used to determine how much over or under a city’s median household income is from the national income, showing cities with high salaries. Using the mean usual hours worked as well as the mean commuting time per week, a weekly time cost can be calculated, showing how much time commitment the average person in a city is commuting to/from work. To filter the results down, only cities with more than 1,000 households and 5,000 population, as well as higher than 20% above the national median household income were considered. Cities where the median household income is above the national median household income as well as the total work time, including commute time and usual hours worked were both scored. The total work time was weighted at 1.5 times, and the two scores were combined to sort to show cities with high salaries and best work-life balance. Only those cities below the national average in terms of total work time + commuting were considered. All data was collected and is up-to-date as of October 16, 2025.
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