Obituary Updated: Here’s What a $100,000 Salary Really Gets You in LA

If it feels like your dollar is getting stretched beyond belief in Southern California — or many other huge metros in the nation — it’s true, and earning a six-figure salary just isn’t what it used to be.

Six figures used to be a huge benchmark, but as inflation forces people to tighten their belts and housing prices increase, you just don’t get as much bang for your buck.

Smart Asset, a financial technology company, cited a survey that revealed “51% of people who earn more than $100,000 reported living paycheck to paycheck in December 2022.”

In a recent study conducted by SmartAsset, the company looked at 76 of the largest US cities and compared what a $100,000 salary gets you after taxes.

Smart Asset also adjusted for the cost of living in each city to reveal how much is left over of that $100,000 after.

Here’s Where $100,000 Gets You the Least

Out of the 10 cities where $100,000 gets you the least after taxes and after adjusting for the cost of living, you’ll find five California cities, and several of those are in Southern California.

Los Angeles and Long Beach are tied for the bottom No. 5 spots.

After adjusting for cost of living and taxes, the average LA resident of Long Beach is left with $44,623. That’s not enough for even one semester at USC.

Not far behind is San Diego with $46,167 left, and Oakland with $46,198. Only San Francisco beat out LA for the least amount of money left over for California cities.

And even with these numbers, New York was still at the bottom of the barrel. A New Yorker is left with only $35,791.

Bottom 10

• Arlington, VA $49,989
• Seattle, WA $48,959
• Boston, MA $46,588
• Oakland, CA $46,198
• San Diego, CA $46,167
• Los Angeles, CA (Tie) $44,623
• Long Beach, CA (Tie) $44,623
• Washington, DC $44,307
• San Francisco, CA $36,445
• Honolulu, HI $36,026
• New York, NY $35,791

Top 10

The top 10 places where you still have some actual money left over after adjusting for taxes and cost of living include a whole lot of Texas.

• Memphis, TN $86,444
• El Paso, TX $84,966
• Oklahoma City, OK $84,498
• Corpus Christi, TX $83,443
• Lubbock, TX $83,350
• Houston, TX $81,171
• San Antonio, TX (Tie) $80,124
• Fort Worth, TX (Tie) $80,124
• Arlington, TX (Tie) $80,124
• St. Louis, MO $79,921