Cities: Cost of Living

As several people have pointed out to me, when you move to a place where everything is expensive, salaries tend to be correspondingly high.  And in places where everything is cheap, salaries tend to be low.  So to some degree, knowing the cost of living in the cities I'm researching won't sway my opinion of the cities much.  At least, assuming that if I move to a high-cost city, my salary will be higher, and vice-versa.

But I have a few practical and psychological hurdles when it comes to costs of living.  For one, despite living in the D.C. area for 10 years (more if you count my time in college), I never adjusted to how expensive housing is.  What you can buy for, say, $400,000 in D.C. will buy something vastly different (usually bigger and better) in most other places.  Part of my reluctance to buy a home in D.C. stemmed from how comparatively expensive everything is, regardless of how much I earned.

Cost:  $4,000,000.00 in Washington, $87.50 in Cleveland.

The other hurdle I'll have to deal with when I think about cost of living is how I might use any savings I have left over when I return to work.  In some of the cities I might move to, my savings could make a sizable downpayment on a home.  In other cities, my savings would be a pittance compared to what I'd need to purchase something.  Now, buying a home isn't high on my priority list, but I'd like to have the option, ya know?

In the end, I don't expect either of these considerations to dictate where I'll end up.  Instead, I'll use this research to let me know the income I'll need, and to prepare me for what sort of housing I can expect to get when I first move.

Average Rent:  Based on averaging three different average rents per city provided by Walkscore.com,  Americantowns.com and Bankrate.com.

LA: $1620/month

Chicago: $1320

Philadelphia: $1150

Columbus: $720

DC: $1737  Most expensive.

Denver: $960

Portland: $1000

Raleigh: $785

Cleveland: $760

Des Moines: $675  Least expensive.

Asheville: $745

Median home sale prices:  Based on averaging three median prices provided by Americantowns.com, Bankrate.com and Bestplaces.net.

LA: $448,300

Chicago: $284,300

Philadelphia: $210,000

Columbus: $161,000

DC: $464,000

Denver: $242,000

Portland: $302,000

Raleigh: $217,000

Cleveland: $126,000  Sadly, this is low because a lot of homes in the city are foreclosed.

Des Moines: $165,000

Asheville: $220,000

Not every home in Portland costs $302,000.  These new mini-homes are much less. But no one larger than me would fit inside.

Cost of Living, as compared to U.S. average:  Using Sperling's Bestplaces.net, with special notes from U.S. News & World Report**.

LA: 47.10% Higher than the U.S. average  ** Eight lowest adjusted median income in the U.S.

Chicago: 16.20% Higher than the U.S. average

Philadelphia: 5.70% Higher than the U.S. average

Columbus: 11% Lower than the U.S. average

DC: 34.80% Higher than the U.S. Average  ** Second highest adjusted median income in the U.S.

Denver: 10.10% Higher than the U.S. average

Portland: 18.60% Higher than the U.S. average

Raleigh: 6.40% Higher than the U.S. average  ** Tenth highest adjusted median income in the U.S.

Cleveland: 10% Lower than the U.S. average

Des Moines: 14.90% Lower than the U.S. average  ** Highest adjusted median income in the U.S.

Asheville: 6.80% Higher than the U.S. average