Top 10 US Cities Where It’s Easiest To Get Rich

Although Americans define being “rich” in many ways, one way to look at it is having enough income to cover necessary expenses — groceries, shelter, utilities, healthcare and transportation — and still having plenty of money left over. Using this as the barometer, GOBankingRates determined the U.S. cities where it’s easiest to get rich by analyzing the 50 most populous cities, looking at the median household income after taxes minus living costs, and finding the places where median earners have a healthy amount of funds left over to do with whatever they please. In the top 10 cities where it’s easiest to get rich, the median household will have over $18,000 each year after covering basic expenses.

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Here’s a look at the cities where it’s easiest to get rich.

• Median household income: $65,565
• Take-home pay after taxes: $53,864
• Annual cost of necessities: $34,924
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $18,940

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• Median household income: $71,957
• Take-home pay after taxes: $55,804
• Annual cost of necessities: $36,686
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $19,118

• Median household income: $68,367
• Take-home pay after taxes: $53,194
• Annual cost of necessities: $33,772
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $19,422

• Median household income: $78,965
• Take-home pay after taxes: $63,291
• Annual cost of necessities: $43,833
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $19,458

• Median household income: $65,481
• Take-home pay after taxes: $53,806
• Annual cost of necessities: $34,145
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $19,661

• Median household income: $65,359
• Take-home pay after taxes: $50,859
• Annual cost of necessities: $30,419
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $20,440

• Median household income: $72,996
• Take-home pay after taxes: $56,230
• Annual cost of necessities: $34,687
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $21,543

• Median household income: $67,927
• Take-home pay after taxes: $55,527
• Annual cost of necessities: $33,942
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $21,585

• Median household income: $105,391
• Take-home pay after taxes: $81,882
• Annual cost of necessities: $56,841
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $25,041

• Median household income: $81,810
• Take-home pay after taxes: $61,306
• Annual cost of necessities: $34,992
• Difference between take-home pay and cost of necessities: $26,314

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Methodology: GOBankingRates looked at the top 50 most populous cities in the U.S. and first found each city’s (1) median household income. GOBankingRates then, using its in-house income tax calculator, found the amount of federal, state and FICA income tax a single person would pay in each city, leaving (2) a take-home pay (post-tax) for each city. From there, GOBankingRates found the (3) annual cost of necessities (groceries, shelter, utilities, healthcare and transportation) for a single person by first finding the national average in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey and then factoring that out by the cost of living index from Sperling’s Best Places. GOBankingRates then found (4) the difference in take-home pay and the annual cost of necessities, with the largest positive difference being best. All data was collected and is up-to-date as of March 7, 2023.