What $100,000 Is Actually Worth in the Largest U.S. Cities – 2023 Study

by Patrick Villanova, SmartAsset

(SmartAsset) – Seen as a sign of success and financial comfort, a six-figure salary has long been an important milestone for American workers. But the times have changed and $100,000 isn’t quite what it used to be, especially as rampant inflation continues to sap the purchasing power of money and push the cost of living higher. In fact, 51% of people who earn more than $100,000 reported living paycheck to paycheck in December 2022 – 9 percentage points higher than a year earlier – according to a recent survey from PYMNTS and LendingClub.

To see how much $100,000 is actually worth in different parts of the country, SmartAsset compared the after-tax income in 76 of the largest U.S. cities and then adjusted those figures for the cost of living in each place. For more information on our data or how we compiled our findings, read the Data and Methodology section below.

Key findings

$100K goes furthest in Memphis. The city may be known as the “Home of the Blues,” but Memphis’ low cost of living surely won’t make you sing them. A $100,000 salary is worth more here ($86,444) than in any other city in our study after subtracting taxes and adjusting for the cost of living.

Oklahoma City has the lowest cost of living. A $100,000 goes a long way in the Sooner State’s largest city, considering that the cost of living is only 83.2% of the national average – the lowest out of all 76 cities in our study. A $100,000 salary is worth $84,498 in Oklahoma City after adjusting for the cost of living.

In New York City, $100K amounts to just $35,791 when you consider taxes and the cost of living. Taxes and cost of living take a big bite out of a $100,000 income in the Big Apple, which ranked last in our analysis. After adjusting for those factors, $100,000 is worth just $35,791.

10 cities where $100,000 is worth the most

When it comes to stretching a $100,00 salary furthest, Texas cities dominate the list. Thanks to no state income tax and the low cost of living, seven out of the 10 cities in our top 10 are located in the Lone Star State. After deducting taxes and adjusting for the cost of living, a $100,000 salary on average is worth $77,885 across the 10 Texas cities that we analyzed in our study.

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