Top 25 Cities Where You Can Live Large on Less Than $70k

We’ve all heard the real estate mantra: location, location, location. As far as price is concerned, where a house is located is typically more important than the actual features of the home. That’s why you can buy a sprawling six-bedroom, six-bath house for less than $250,000 in some markets and pay close to $1 million for a tiny one-bedroom condo in New York City.
Beyond real estate values, location also affects the overall cost of living – what you pay not just for housing, but also for food, transportation, healthcare and other everyday expenses. Salaries, of course, play an important role: A smaller salary goes further in places with a lower cost of living, while a large salary might be barely enough to get by on in an expensive city. (See also: 5 U.S. Cities with High Paychecks and a Low Cost of Living).

Top 25 Cities Where You Can Live Large on $70K a Year

With this in mind, job-hunting site Glassdoor recently came up with a cost-of-living ratio – calculated by taking a city’s median base salary and dividing it by its median home value – to find cities in the U.S. where your pay will go the furthest. Here it is: a countdown of the top 25 cities where you can live like a king or queen on less than $70K a year, along with each city’s cost of living ratio (a higher ratio number is better), median base salary, median home value and number of open jobs.

25. Raleigh, N.C.
Cost-of-living ratio: 30%
Median base salary: $62,000
Median home value: $209,400
Number of open jobs: 22,339
24. Minneapolis-St. Paul
Cost-of-living ratio: 30%
Median base salary: $65,000
Median home value: $219,400
Number of open jobs: 64,026
23. Jacksonville, Fla.
Cost-of-living ratio: 30%
Median base salary: $50,000
Median home value: $165,900
Number of open jobs: 18,205
22. Richmond, Va.
Cost-of-living ratio: 31%
Median base salary: $59,800
Median home value: $191,500
Number of open jobs: 21,454
21. Hartford, Conn.
Cost-of-living ratio: 32%
Median base salary: $68,000
Median home value: $215,800
Number of open jobs: 19,025
20. Tampa, Fla.
Cost-of-living ratio: 32%
Median base salary: $52,000
Median home value: $163,600
Number of open jobs: 40,830
19. Chicago
Cost-of-living ratio: 33%
Median base salary: $63,000
Median home value: $193,800
Number of open jobs: 155,173
18. Dallas-Fort Worth
Cost-of-living ratio: 33%
Median base salary: $61,000
Median home value: $182,100
Number of open jobs: 121,241
17. Charlotte, N.C.
Cost-of-living ratio: 36%
Median base salary: $58,000
Median home value: $159,800
Number of open jobs: 37,180
16. San Antonio
Cost-of-living ratio: 37%
Median base salary: $55,000
Median home value: $150,200
Number of open jobs: 28,378
15. Atlanta
Cost-of-living ratio: 37%
Median base salary: $60,000
Median home value: $163,000
Number of open jobs: 90,739
14. Columbus, Ohio
Cost-of-living ratio: 37%
Median base salary: $57,000
Median home value: $154,600
Number of open jobs: 30,728
13. Oklahoma City
Cost-of-living ratio: 38%
Median base salary: $50,000
Median home value: $132,500
Number of open jobs: 16,388
12. Houston
Cost-of-living ratio: 38%
Median base salary: $65,000
Median home value: $172,100
Number of open jobs: 72,033
11. Buffalo, N.Y.
Cost-of-living ratio: 39%
Median base salary: $50,000
Median home value: $128,100
Number of open jobs: 13,599
10. Louisville, Ky.
Cost-of-living ratio: 39%
Median base salary: $54,000
Median home value: $137,500
Number of open jobs: 22,693
9. Kansas City, Mo.
Cost-of-living ratio: 39%
Median base salary: $58,000
Median home value: $147,500
Number of open jobs: 35,639
8. Birmingham
Cost-of-living ratio: 40%
Median base salary: $50,800
Median home value: $128,00
Number of open jobs: 15,299
7. Cincinnati, Ohio
Cost-of-living ratio: 40%
Median base salary: $57,179
Median home value: $143,400
Number of open jobs: 32,605
6. St. Louis
Cost of living ratio: 40%
Median base salary: $56,896
Median home value: $141,900
Number of open jobs: 35,300
5. Indianapolis
Cost-of-living ratio: 43%
Median base salary: $56,000
Median home value: $130,200
Number of open jobs: 33,090
4. Cleveland
Cost-of-living ratio: 44%
Median base salary: $55,000
Median home value: $125,500
Number of open jobs: 29,304
3. Pittsburgh
Cost-of-living ratio: 45%
Median base salary: $56,896
Median home value: $126,700
Number of open jobs: 46,379
2. Memphis, Tenn.
Cost-of-living ratio: 46%
Median base salary: $52,000
Median home value: $112,100
Number of open jobs: 17,892
1. Detroit
Cost-of-living ratio: 50%
Median base salary: $61,500
Median home value: $123,100
Number of open jobs: 54,808

The Bottom Line

These are the American cities that will give you the best shot at living luxuriously on a relatively modest income. If you are thinking of making a move to one of the above-mentioned cities, make your money stretch even further by researching the interest rates available from the lenders in the area. Taking the time to secure a low-interest rate can save you thousands of dollars in the long-run and allow you to live even more lavishly.

Alternatively, if you haven't got $70k coming in every year and you still want to live largely – or you're just adventurous – you might consider joining the growing number of expatriates who have moved overseas to enjoy new experiences and cultures, along with a lower cost of living. It’s said that you can live comfortably in Thailand, for example, on about $2,000 a month (that’s for a couple – it’s even cheaper on your own).
There are plenty of affordable countries around the world: You can also live well in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Spain, to name a few, at a fraction of the cost of living in the U.S. (See also: 5 Cheapest Countries to Retire To and 8 Countries Where $200K in Retirement Savings Will Last 30 Years.)
Still, most people opt to stay relatively close to home due to work, family, friends and other commitments. If that’s the case for you, one of these 25 cities may be a great place to start your next home search. Needless to say, a more modest income will also go pretty far in these cities.

Source: www.investopedia.com