Making a good living is one thing, living well is another. And that often boils down to where you choose to live.
The best places are likely the ones where you can find a job, earn a good salary and buy a nice home. In a 2016 report, job-hunting site Glassdoor calculated the top spots where your pay will go furthest, based on salaries and home values. To do so, the jobs site came up with a cost of living ratio — a city’s median base salary divided by its median home value.
Noticeably missing are some of America’s biggest cities. While you can certainly earn more in hubs like New York and San Francisco, few people can afford to buy a house or an apartment there.
Here are the top 25 places where an average paycheck goes a very long way and the quality of life is great. (A higher ratio number is better.)
25. Raleigh, NC
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, NC
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, NY
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, Ala
Cost of living ratio: 40%
Median base salary: $50,800
Median home value: $128,000
Number of open jobs: 15,299
7. Cincinnati
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: 17,982
1. Detroit
Cost of living ratio: 50%
Median base salary: $61,500
Median home value: $123,100
Number of open jobs: 54,808
Jessica Dickler, CNBC .
