These days, six figures don’t go as far as they used to.
So how far does a $100,000 salary go these days, with inflation and all? As it turns out, the answer to that question really depends on where you live.
As noted by NASDAQ51% of people making more than $100,000 reported living paycheck to paycheck in December 2022, an increase of 7% over the previous year, according to to a recent survey from PYMNTS and LendingClub.
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To get an idea of what a six-figure salary can really bring you in a time of rising food costs and an increasingly tightly-supplied housing market, SmartAsset compared after-tax income in 76 of the cities largest in the US and then adjusted those numbers against the cost of living in each location.
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So here are the cities where your money goes the furthest, in terms of cost of living.
1. Memphis, Tennessee
A person who earns $100,000 per year in Memphis takes home $74,515 after federal and local taxes. Memphis’ cost of living is nearly 14% lower than the national average, which means that after-tax income is worth $86,444 when adjusting for cost of living.
2. El Paso, Texas
A salary of $100,000 in El Paso equals $84,966 after subtracting taxes and adjusting for local cost of living. El Paso, a city of more than 678,000 residents, has a cost of living that is only 87.7% of the national average.
3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
$100,000 in Oklahoma City equals $70,302 after taxes and adjusted for local cost of living. Oklahoma City has the lowest cost of living overall, at 83.2% of the national average, the lowest of the 76 cities in the study. A salary of $100,000 is worth $84,498 in Oklahoma City after adjusting for cost of living.
4.Lubbock, Texas
Those five zeros end up looking like $74,515 after taxes. The cost of living in Lubbock is only 89.4% of the national average, which rounds to $83,350 after adjusting for cost of living.
5.Houston, Texas
Everything is bigger in Texas, including how your salary really feels, it seems, since seven of the 10 cities in the SmartAsset survey are located in the Lone Star state. As far as Houston is concerned, a salary of $100,000 equals at $74,515 after taxes, but it’s worth $81,350 when adjusted for Houston’s cost of living, which is 91.8% of the national average.
7. Three-way tie: San Antonio, Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas
Three Texas cities tie for seventh place. Across all three, a salary of $100,000 equals $74,515 in take-home pay. That works out to $80,124 when adjusted for the cost of living in the three cities, which is 7% lower than the national average.
10. St. Louis, Missouri
The home of America’s most beloved bow can also boast a low cost of living, at 87% of the national average. A salary of $100,000 comes out to $69,531, which feels like $79,921 after adjusting for cost of living.
How far does a $100,000 salary go in New York?
In New York, $100,000 equals just $35,791 when taxes and cost of living are taken into account. The city was ranked lowest in the survey.
If you’re curious about how you can stretch your salary without moving to a different city, NASDAQ recommends contributing the maximum annual amount to your retirement accounts, which helps reduce your tax bill in the current year. It is also wise to work with a financial advisor to learn how to be more tax efficient in your everyday life.
