The top 15 cities in America where you can live like royalty on a $60,000 salary

The top 15 cities in America where you can live like royalty on a $60,000 salary

Looking to do better in the year ahead? That may simply boil down to where you choose to live.

The best places are likely the ones where you can find a job, earn a good salary and buy a nice home. In a 2016 report, job-hunting site Glassdoor calculated the top spots where your pay will go furthest, based on salaries and home values. The jobs site came up with a cost of living ratio — a city's median base salary divided by its median home value. (A higher ratio number is better.)

Noticeably missing are some of America's biggest cities. While you can certainly earn more in hubs like New York and San Francisco, fewer people can afford to buy a house or an apartment there.

Here are the top 15 places where an average paycheck goes a very long way and the quality of life is great (even without a view of the Golden Gate).

15. Atlanta

Cost of living ratio: 37%

Median base salary: $60,000

Median home value: $163,000

Number of open jobs: 90,739

14. Columbus, Ohio

Cost of living ratio: 37%

Median base salary: $57,000

Median home value: $154,600

Number of open jobs: 30,728

13. Oklahoma City

Cost of living ratio: 38%

Median base salary: $50,000

Median home value: $132,500

Number of open jobs: 16,388

12. Houston

Cost of living ratio: 38%

Median base salary: $65,000

Median home value: $172,100

Number of open jobs: 72,033

11. Buffalo, NY

Cost of living ratio: 39%

Median base salary: $50,000

Median home value: $128,100

Number of open jobs: 13,599

10. Louisville, Ky

Cost of living ratio: 39%

Median base salary: $54,000

Median home value: $137,500

Number of open jobs: 22,693

9. Kansas City, Mo

Cost of living ratio: 39%

Median base salary: $58,000

Median home value: $147,500

Number of open jobs: 35,639

8. Birmingham, Ala

Cost of living ratio: 40%

Median base salary: $50,800

Median home value: $128,000

Number of open jobs: 15,299

7. Cincinnati

Cost of living ratio: 40%

Median base salary: $57,179

Median home value: $143,400

Number of open jobs: 32,605

6. St. Louis

Cost of living ratio: 40%

Median base salary: $56,896

Median home value: $141,900

Number of open jobs: 35,300

5. Indianapolis

Cost of living ratio: 43%

Median base salary: $56,000

Median home value: $130,200

Number of open jobs: 33,090

4. Cleveland

Cost of living ratio: 44%

Median base salary: $55,000

Median home value: $125,500

Number of open jobs: 29,304

3. Pittsburgh

Cost of living ratio: 45%

Median base salary: $56,896

Median home value: $126,700

Number of open jobs: 46,379

2. Memphis, Tenn

Cost of living ratio: 46%

Median base salary: $52,000

Median home value: $112,100

Number of open jobs: 17,982

1. Detroit

Cost of living ratio: 50%

Median base salary: $61,500

Median home value: $123,100

Number of open jobs: 54,808



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