Cities
Same paycheck. Different map.
Housing is scaled by local rent index. Food and utilities move partway. Debt and car payments stay put.
Home city
Minneapolis
The original $58k story lives here.
Leftover here
$152
Rent index
110
100 = U.S. average
| City | Index | Modeled bills | Leftover | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. average Baseline for comparisons. | 100 | $3,415 | $332+$180 | |
New York City High rent, high wages, little slack. | 168 | $5,468 | -$1,692-$1,844 | |
San Francisco Paychecks look bigger. Housing eats them. | 178 | $5,721 | -$1,962-$2,114 | |
Los Angeles Car + rent is the whole plot. | 148 | $4,784 | -$1,025-$1,177 | |
Chicago A mid-cost big city that still bites. | 112 | $3,847 | $4-$148 | |
Austin No state income tax. Rent caught up. | 118 | $4,100 | -$47-$199 | |
Dallas More room than the coasts until the car payment. | 104 | $3,739 | $314+$162 | |
Miami Insurance and rent rose together. | 128 | $4,423 | -$370-$522 | |
Seattle No state income tax, expensive everything else. | 136 | $4,532 | -$479-$631 | |
Denver Lifestyle city with lifestyle prices. | 122 | $4,171 | -$297-$449 | |
Atlanta Spread-out city, transport is the trap. | 102 | $3,704 | $129-$23 | |
Phoenix Heat, sprawl, and a rising rent line. | 106 | $3,811 | $140-$12 | |
Minneapolis The original $58k story lives here. | 104 | $3,595 | $152- | |
Cleveland Lower housing, same national grocery aisle. | 84 | $3,019 | $892+$739 | |
Kansas City One of the last places $58k still breathes. | 88 | $3,163 | $694+$542 | |
Boston Student-loan country with coastal rent. | 152 | $5,000 | -$1,151-$1,303 |