Find a Job You Really Want In
There are a lot of ways to evaluate the direction a city is headed in.
You can look at jobs, employment, things to do, or big name companies located there. However, you could also just look at money.
For better or worse, in American society we often view success with dollar signs.
To find the cities that are heading in the right direction financially, we analyzed data to see cities that saw the biggest increase in households earning over $100,000.
Below you can see the 25 cities that saw the greatest growth:
All the cities above saw a 2.5% increase or higher in the number of households earning above $200,000. While California dominates the list, most parts of the country are represented.
Unfortunately, not all cities saw the same boost of higher income households. In fact, some saw a decrease:
Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Frisco, Texas both saw a decrease in households earning over $100,000. The rest of the cities on the list, while not decreasing, saw a relatively lackluster growth.
How We Determined This
This was fairly easy. We simply used data from the Census’ American Community Survey to compare the percent of households earning over $100,000 in 2019 to 2018.
Income brackets of $100,000 to $149,999, $150,000 to $199,999, and over $200,000 were all added together.
We examined the 200 cities with the most households. The greater the increase, the richer the city is getting.
Wait, why are we saying over $100,000 is rich?
In 2019, the median household income was $68,703.
While earning $100,000 won’t leave you Scrooge McDuck rich, it does mean you are earning considerably more than the average income. For cities, a higher earning tax base is always a positive and can help promote future growth. After all, taxes fund fancy things like public amenities and schools that can increase an area’s desirability.
On the individual level, what that $100,000 looks and feels like may vary. Cost of living differences are real. $100,000 in San Francisco feels different than Amarillo.
However, in general, it’s always a good sign when a city sees an increase in higher earning households.
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
