- The median household in America earns $55,000 a year, which can go far depending on where you live.
- SmartAsset recently released a list of the best places to live on a $55,000 salary.
- Some of the best places to live on the typical American salary are located in the Midwest or are capital cities.
How far your paycheck can really go is often dependent on your geography.
A $55,000 salary – what the median American family earns, according to SmartAsset, citing US Census Bureau data from the 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates – may not get you very far in a big city with a high cost of living like New York or San Francisco. But it could stretch for miles elsewhere.
SmartAsset recently released a list of the best places to live on $55,000 a year. To determine this list, it found the cities with a median household income range of $50,000 to $60,000 – 126 cities, to be exact. It then ranked each city based on nine metrics with equal ranking, which it then averaged. This was the foundation for the final score.
Turns out, some of the best places to live on the typical American salary are located in the Midwest – four of the top 10 cities are located in this region. Capital cities also take up four of the top 10 spots; they have strong economies thanks to state government employment opportunities, according to SmartAsset.
Below, see the top 25 places to live in the US on the typical American salary.
25. Springdale, Arkansas
Median household income: $51,152 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.2% Average commute time: 20.1 minutes
24. New Braunfels, Texas
Median household income: $58,814 Percent of income spent on housing: 24.4% Average commute time: 23.6 minutes
23. St. George, Utah
Median household income: $54,210 Percent of income spent on housing: 21.2% Average commute time: 16.8 minutes
22. Parma, Ohio
Median household income: $54,588 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.5% Average commute time: 24.6 minutes
21. Metairie, Louisiana
Median household income: $58,947 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.9% Average commute time: 21.7 minutes
20. Portland, Maine
Median household income: $56,326 Percent of income spent on housing: 25.8% Average commute time: 18.9 minutes
19. Sparks, Nevada
Median household income: $58,961 Percent of income spent on housing: 25.2% Average commute time: 13 minutes
17 (TIE). Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Median household income: $52,355 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.7% Average commute time: 16 minutes
17 (TIE). Lexington, Kentucky
Median household income: $56,137 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2% Average commute time: 20.8 minutes
16. Amarillo, Texas
Median household income: $51,263 Percent of income spent on housing: 19% Average commute time: 18.3 minutes
15. Reno, Nevada
Median household income: $57,125 Percent of income spent on housing: 22.1% Average commute time: 20.4 minutes
14. Asheville, North Carolina
Median household income: $50,184 Percent of income spent on housing: 23.6% Average commute time: 17.8 minutes
13. Des Moines, Iowa
Median household income: $51,355 Percent of income spent on housing: 19.8% Average commute time: 18.7 minutes
12. Wyoming, Michigan
Median household income: $56,774 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.6% Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
11. Sioux City, Iowa
Median household income: $53,332 Percent of income spent on housing: 16.3% Average commute time: 16.5 minutes
10. Omaha, Nebraska
Median household income: $56,406 Percent of income spent on housing: 21.6% Average commute time: 18.3 minutes
8 (TIE). Boise City, Idaho
Median household income: $55,943 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.7% Average commute time: 18.9 minutes
8 (TIE). Little Rock, Arkansas
Median household income: $57,534 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2% Average commute time: 18.3 minutes
7. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Median household income: $56,096 Percent of income spent on housing: 19.1% Average commute time: 17.4 minutes
6. Cheektowaga, New York
Median household income: $53,502 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.4% Average commute time: 19.5 minutes
5. Lincoln, Nebraska
Median household income: $56,160 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2% Average commute time: 19 minutes
4. Santa Fe, New Mexico
Median household income: $57,022 Percent of income spent on housing: 22.4% Average commute time: 18.7 minutes
3. Appleton, Wisconsin
Median household income: $58,374 Percent of income spent on housing: 19.8% Average commute time: 18.6 minutes
2. Billings, Montana
Median household income: $57,527 Percent of income spent on housing: 20.8% Average commute time: 15.2 minutes
1. Fargo, North Dakota
Median household income: $59,542 Percent of income spent on housing: 18.8% Average commute time: 14.9 minutes