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Best U.S. Cities for Finance Workers to Live in

By

Rebecca Lake

Updated August 07, 2024

Reviewed by

JeFreda R. Brown

Fact checked by

Suzanne Kvilhaug

What are the most affordable cities for finance workers to live in? And does that even matter? After all, pursuing a career in finance can be rewarding where your bottom line is concerned. Personal financial advisors, for example, earned a median income of $99,770 in 2022, while the national median household income was $74,580.

Nevertheless, while working in the financial sector can prove lucrative, it helps to be in a place where good jobs are plentiful and you can take home the most salary possible after paying for taxes and living expenses. If you live in a city with a high cost of living, you may find that your paychecks aren’t stretching as far as you’d like. Swapping your home base for a cheaper locale could improve your financial situation. Here are 15 cities where it's likely you'll keep more of your income (on average) as a financial worker.

Key Takeaways

There are many types of jobs in the financial service industry, so you have many locations to choose from.
Some of the top cities for finance professionals are Chicago, Boston, and Charlotte
Before choosing a place to live and work, it's best to make sure you'll have income left over as most financial hubs are expensive to live in.

The Best Cities for Finance Workers

If you work in the financial industry and are wondering where the best places to live are, you’re in luck. We've come up with a list of 15 cities that offer finance professionals the most bang for their buck. We analyzed several factors over more than 40 major metro markets, including:

Average annual pay
Cost of living
Number of financial companies in the area hiring

This table lists the cities that proved to be the most affordable, for both renters and homeowners.

City	Average Annual Pay	Average Annual Cost of Living	Percent of Income Left
Chicago, IL	$263,744.00	$89,187.00	66.18%
Boston, MA	$372,684.00	$133,079.00	64.29%
Charlotte, NC	$227,968.00	$88,564.00	61.15%
Hartford, CT	$221,676.00	$94,849.00	57.21%
Milwaukee, WI	$177,112.00	$80,610.00	54.49%
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX	$166,816.00	$78,429.00	52.98%
Princeton, NJ	$205,868.00	$98,245.00	52.28%
Des Moines, IA	$146,380.00	$72,604.00	50.40%
Philadelphia, PA	$176,332.00	$87,821.00	50.20%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	$196,144.00	$100,445.00	48.79%
Denver, CO	$187,096.00	$96,547.00	48.40%
Miami, FL	$175,396.00	$90,589.00	48.35%
Washington, D.C., Metro Area	$242,424.00	$134,547.00	44.50%
San Antonio, TX	$ 30,884.00	$72,796.00	44.38%
Purchase, NY	$246,324.00	$138,989.00	43.57%

Methodology

To get these figures, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for financial activities sector were used. The BLS' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages gathers information on these topics four times per year. The Bureau publishes the census outcome on its Employment and Wages Data Viewer. Our data came from the Financial Activities industry to get the broadest variety of financial areas.

To account for housing, taxes, child care, transportation, health care, food, and other costs we chose the Economic Policy Institute's Family Budget Map, which lets you view total average costs in your county for a "modest yet adequate" standard of living.

We subtracted annual cost of living expenses per county from the annual pay, and expressed it as a percentage of total income left over. This way, you can view the areas that leave you the most income after accounting for expenses.

Many well-known financial institutions operate in these areas. Some examples are:

JP Morgan & Chase
Square
Morningstar
Bank of America
Wells Fargo
Fidelity Investments
Charles Schwab
Edward Jones
Merrill Lynch
Capital One

This is not an all inclusive list, because there are hundreds of large and small financial service companies throughout all of these areas.

What Is the Best City to Live in for Finance?

It depends on what you specialize in, your standards of living, and the environment you enjoy. Our list of 15 cities spans the East Coast to the West Coast, so you should be able to find somewhere that suits you.

Is North Carolina a Financial Hub?

The city of Charlotte, NC is well-known as one of the financial hubs in the U.S. It is number three on our list of top financial sector cities to live in.

What Is the Hardest Finance Job to Get?

There are several challenging, competitive, and well-paying financial positions. Chief Financial Officer, Senior Accountant, Controller, and Actuarial Analyst are all tough positions to get and hold onto.

The Bottom Line

As the data shows, where you choose to live can have a significant impact on your wallet. Whether you’re just starting out or are an established professional, opting for a change in scenery requires some research beforehand. Comparing the salary you anticipate earning to the cost of keeping a roof over your head can help you find a new hometown that will be best for your budget.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Industries at a Glance | Finance and Insurance: NAICS 52."
U.S. Census Bureau. "Income in the United States: 2022."
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages | Employment and Wages Data Viewer."
Economic Policy Institute. "Family Budget Map."

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