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The 15 best-paying cities for millennials
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Spotlight

The 15 best-paying cities for millennials

  • By Allison Kade, MeetFabric.com
  • Nov 29, 2019
  • Nov 29, 2019 Updated Oct 13, 2020
  • 0

While locations with higher living costs tend to offer higher wages, sometimes wage gains don’t make up for the increased cost.

Intro

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

As millennials approach their prime earning years, they face unique financial challenges. They are grappling with a combination of mounting student loan debt, increased housing costs and lingering effects of the Great Recession. Despite higher levels of education, millennials are more likely to have lower earnings, fewer assets and less wealth than previous generations at the same age.

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15. Austin-Round Rock, TX

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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14. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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13. Pittsburgh, PA

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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12. Raleigh, NC

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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11. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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10. Birmingham-Hoover, AL

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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9. Columbus, OH

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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7. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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4. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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3. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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2. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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Detailed findings and methodology

The median annual earnings for full-time working millennials in the U.S. was $40,000 in 2018, about 16 percent lower than the median for all workers of $48,000. Across major metropolitan areas, unadjusted millennial earnings ranged from a low of $25,000 per year to a high of $71,000 per year in San Jose, CA.

Of course, the cost of living varies widely by metro, from a low of 19 percent below average to a high of 31 percent above average. After adjusting for cost of living, the range in earnings narrows from a low of approximately $28,000 per year to a high just over $54,000 annually.

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