I really need to move.
The national conversation in the U.S. is focused squarely on improving the lives of people in the working class. The debate revolves around exactly how to do that. Politicians and pundits have all sorts of ideas, from efforts to save jobs, create tax cuts, subsidize housing, and provide universal healthcare. Thing is, people don’t even agree on how to define the working class, much less how their living conditions stack up across the country. We created a data visualization to illustrate this complex situation.
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Each bubble represents a city. The color corresponds to the amount of money a typical working-class family would have left over at the end of the year after paying for their living costs, like housing, food and transportation. The darker the shade of red, the worse off you are. The darker the shade of green, the better off you are. The size of the bubble also fits on a sliding scale—large and dark red means the city is totally unaffordable. Bigger dark green bubbles likewise indicate a city where the working class can get by.
The data come from our new True Cost of Living Tool. It’s kind of a big deal because it lets you drill down to a specific city and search through layers of relevant information to understand exactly how much money it takes to live in any given area. We stitched together a variety of different reputable sources, like the Bureau of Labor Statistics for income levels, the National Bureau of Economic Research for tax data, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the cost of food. Basically, you can check our work.
This map tells us several things about the working class in America. Of the ten most populous cities in the country, the only place where you can enjoy a decent standard of living without taking on debt is San Antonio. Out of the top 50 largest cities, only 12 are considered affordable. Low-wage workers are better off in smaller cities.
The geography of affordable cities is also remarkable. Newark, NJ, Chesapeake, VA and Jacksonville, FL are the only coastal locations where a worker can support his or her family. There are exactly zero affordable cities on the West Coast. Matter of fact, inexpensive locales tend to be far away from the coasts and can be found in the interior of the country. This is especially true in the southwest in states like Arizona and Texas.
So where are the best places from a financial perspective for a working-class family to live? Here are the top five cities with the net surplus remaining after living expenses:
1. Fort Worth, TX ($10,447)
2. Newark, NJ (($10,154)
3. Glendale, AZ ($10,120)
4. Gilbert, AZ ($9,760)
5. Mesa, AZ ($7,780)
Arizona dominates the list. If we were to keep going, the Grand Canyon State would take #6 and #7 too. The Sun Belt clearly has an economic advantage for workers.
The worst places for working class folks to live shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention to the affordable housing crises in New York and California. Here are the five worst cities:
1. New York, NY (-$91,184)
2. San Francisco, CA (-$83,272)
3. Boston, MA (-$61,900)
4. Washington, DC (-$50,535)
5. Philadelphia, PA (-$37,850)
You read that correctly. The typical working-class family would need an additional $91K+ per year in New York City just to break even on a reasonable standard of living.
Do you think a working-class family can comfortably live in your city? You might be surprised by the results. Enter your information in our tool to find out.
Do you need more info about our data? Visit our True Cost of Living (TCL) Tool.
To each his own, but the Midwest in general has a very high quality of life, with big cities, institutions,etc. with the coup de grace– unbelievably cheap real estate. Too boot on can live like a king in the middle class in the Midwest where you would be borderline lower class along the coasts. NYC is great place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there.
Once you get inland from the west coast things are pretty good too and the low population density means you can away from the mouth breathing sheople pretty quickly.
I spent 3 months in Ft Worth earlier this year and if I wasn’t 65 and didn’t need it, I would have stayed-it is the land of opportunity. Of course the traffic in DFW ain’t for the faint of heart but man, it’s beehive of hustle. I loved it and I hate big cities. Back here in my small w Texas town, it’s like a morgue, comparatively speaking.
My brother-in-law built a small house in the Davis Mountains at 7,000 feet. Cheap place to live if you don’t need medical care.
” There are exactly zero affordable cities on the West Coast.” This is untrue. The author is just talking about places most people would WANT to live on the West Coast. There are plenty of small, working class towns on the coast. Take for example Reedsport Oregon. The median home value in Reedsport is $159,600.
Yeah it’s a shithole, redneck town, but it’s on a bay by the Ocean.
Hey that ‘tool’ doesn’t work.
Yes it does – Select nearby city from menu tab and scroll from there.
No, it doesn’t work at all.
“You stuff somebody into the American Dream and it becomes a prison.”
– Craig Thomas
Coastal California has always had a higher cost of living even 50 years ago. Its gotten progressively worse of course but it used to be offset by quality of life. Nice climate, beautiful scenery, cheap tuition at its state run universities.
Then the aerospace industry pulled out of SoCal and the defense industry from the Bay Area and a lot of good secure jobs were lost. They were replaced by the FIRE economy. They drove much of the working class out of San Francisco and forced them to move to exo suburbs. Now the FIRE people have been forced out by the richer ‘tech economy’. Very few people remain who can say they were born and raised in San Francisco. You are either forced out of the city or flee because the strain of staying there becomes too great.
the only thing good about Ca is damn can’t think of nothing
Hmm. Glendale and Gilbert. Now I know why I live in the East Valley. Even after all I have to spend on air conditioning, I still have enough left over for lots of Chimichangas and Burrito Grandes
CA is run by Dems, the protectors of the working class. Those least affordable cities? Dem controlled as well.
Oops. Guess that is not working out very well.
The dwindling [still productive] “working class” should AVOID the [now] American NIGHTMARE.
Nowhere is there a place where blue collar trades people can earn the wages necessary to thrive in America today in sufficient numbers to have a positive impact on living standards . Getting by is all that’s out there now for most . The costs of health insurence and retirement have all been pushed on to the employee without sufficient raises in salary or hourly wage to cover these necessities . We will hear politicians and business groups babbling about $15 dollars per hour and even up to $20 for experienced people BFD ! Minimum wages should be what ever a government employee earns because those low wages only depress an area and people . Let’s not forget the taxpayer funded assistance required for low wage workers to show up for shitty pay !
Most working middle class jobs offer a pay scale that’s great for a high school grad living in his or her parents basement . Trained people in this country today should be commanding $65 to $70 per hour x 40 hours . Taxes on that wage scale may just bale out police and fire pension plans otherwise they are bankrupt too !
It’s relatively simple math , our government and big business have screwed raped and bankrupted us as a people and a nation and now they want to hand us the bill for their short sighted ability to see the results of their collective actions . Or they knew this would be bad and we would end up here in which case it’s criminal fraud and all their combined wealth needs redistribution . The rule of law should stand . You do not get to keep hold and enjoy profits from criminal enterprises . That wealth is returned to the victims . Like savings account holders that have received 1% intrest etc….!