Moving from Miami? - Some Options

No surprise there, Miami it seems is not the top 5 cities to for building wealth. The good news is that it is not among worst 5 either.

Topping the list is Plano, Tex., while high cost of living lands New York at the bottom, reports Salary.com.

Salary.com, which provides compensation information, has ranked the best and worst cities in which to build personal wealth.

Salary.com’s salary value index compares local salaries, the cost of living and unemployment rates among U.S. cities with populations greater than 250,000.

Other considerations including diversity of industry, education level of the cities’ population, proximity to post secondary institutions, percent of population below the poverty level and median travel time to work.

Analysis done by Beautifulcity.us shows that the Salary.com list might not hold true for somebody from Miami. 

If you earn $30,000 in Miami and were to move to Omaha, Neb. which is no 3 on Salary.com best cities list you would have $3,780 net change in disposable income if you managed to land a job there which also paid $30,000 annually. However employers in Omaha, NE typically pay 2.8% less than employers in Miami, FL. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in Omaha, NE you are likely to earn $29,149. On the other hand if you wanted to rollback a little and downsize the cost of living in Omaha, NE is 15.4% lower than in Miami, FL. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $25,369 to maintain your current standard of living.

Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska and the seat of Douglas County, is located in the eastern part of the state on the west bank of the Missouri River, opposite Council Bluffs, Iowa. Omaha is a major market for grain and livestock, food processing, telecommunications, and insurance. Other important industries include electrical equipment and finance as well as printing and publishing. It continues to be a major railroad hub.

The comparisons get even more interesting when you look at Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN which is no 4 on the list. In Minneapolis employers typically pay 8.9% more than employers in Miami, FL. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN you are likely to earn $32,661 as against $30,000 giving you a $5,262 net change in disposable income.

The cost of living in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN is 8.7% lower than in Miami, FL. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $27,398 to maintain your current standard of living.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota and is composed of 188 cities and townships.Built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, the area is also nicknamed the Twin Cities. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area is the 15th-largest agglomeration in the United States, and is home to many corporations, companies, and divisions. The core cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul host many companies, but a number are in suburban cities. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area is one of the country’s major economic hubs, with several Fortune 1000 companies and the world’s second largest privately held corporation.

Let us look at Plano, Tx which is on top of the salary.com list of best cities, Plano is within the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, colloquially referred to as the Metroplex. The city is home to many corporate headquarters, including Ericsson Inc, Rent-A-Center, Crossmark, Perot Systems, Electronic Data Systems, JCPenney, Frito-Lay, Cinemark Theatres, and UGS. Employers in Dallas, TX typically pay 2.7% more than employers in Miami, FL. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in Dallas, TX you are likely to earn $35,953. The cost of living in Dallas, TX is 8.0% lower than in Miami, FL. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $32,210 to maintain your current standard of living. $3,742 net change in disposable income.

Ready to move to New York? New York tops the Salary.com list of the worst. Well this might interest you employers in New York, NY typically pay 20.6% more than employers in Miami, FL. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in New York, NY you are likely to earn $36,181. But the good news ends there the cost of living in New York, NY is 51.7% higher than in Miami, FL. Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $45,508 to maintain your current standard of living. In short, there will be $9,327 net change in disposable income.

Cities at the bottom of the list typically represent the places where living is the most expensive and pay differentials are not proportionately inflated. Cities at the top are headquarters for large companies, have appealing amenities and are growing.

 

Here are the five cities at the top and bottom of the Salary.com list:

Best Cities to Build Personal Wealth

1. Plano, Tex.
2. Aurora, Colo.
3. Omaha, Neb.
4. Minneapolis
5. Albuquerque, N.M.

Worst Cities to Build Personal Wealth

1. New York
2. Washington
3. Los Angeles
4. Honolulu
5. San Francisco

Here is how the Metropolitan Areas rank:
 
New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island - largest 
Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana - 2nnd largest  
Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington - 4th largest 
Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach - 7th largest   
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria - 8th largest 
San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont - 12th largest  
Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington - 16th Largest  

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