Future You
A $300,000 Salary Feels Like $100,000 in the Priciest US Cities
In the country’s most expensive cities, the high cost of living and taxes mean you need to make much more than $100,000 to get six-figure purchasing power.
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It’s tax season in the US, and nowhere is that felt more acutely than in three cities — New York, San Francisco and Honolulu — where you need a salary of over $300,000 to bring home $100,000 after taxes and adjustments for the cost of living.
That’s according to an analysis by SmartAsset, a consumer-focused financial information provider. The firm adjusted $100,000 for the local cost of living in 76 of the largest US cities and then used its paycheck calculator to account for federal, state and local taxes for a single taxpayer with an annual salary and no additional withholdings.