What Metro Areas can the "middle class" have the highest standard of living? (middle-class, low crime)

[questioner2]

All over this board are complaints about how wages in cities all over America have not kept up with inflation. They say housing (and other things) have got so expensive the middle class people in places like New York, Washington DC, Florida and California arr forced into super long commutes or living in a bad neighborhood to survive.

I would like to believe that there are still places where wages are adaquate and cost of living is low enough that someone who works in a middle class job can live in a nice home (that is not 40 miles from job centers), in a good neighborhood and go to a good school, and still have a relatively good job market.

What is the best metro area for the old fashioned middle class, where a middle class income can still give one a good life? Is there a town where a teacher and a bank teller can combine their income, bring up two kids, and still live a quiet good middle class life?

[south-to-west]

Their are plenty of mid-sized metros where middle-class families live luxuriously--but in regards to larget metros, I would say that Dallas and Houston fit the bill. According to some of my friends in Dallas and from what I've seen personally, a person can still find 3,000+ sq. ft. homes in the Dallas area in the high $100K range. The wages and schools in the area seem to be great as well.

[Steve-o]

Chicagoland is one of them too. There are hundreds (literally) of suburbs here, many of them are middle-class and people live very well on not-so-stellar income levels. I dont know of an area like Dallas has where you can get a 3K sq.ft. home for 100K around here, but there definitely are MANY cheap and safe suburbs out here.

[SpeedyAZ]

There are still quite a few metro areas where the middle class can live well, you just need to know where to look. Dallas and Houston are two great examples as well as Denver and Phoenix. An average house ranges from the high $100K's (Houston) to the low $300K's (Phoenix). Each of these cities offer a great cost-of-living when compared to the rest of the nation.

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Chicagoland is one of them too. There are hundreds (literally) of suburbs here, many of them are middle-class and people live very well on not-so-stellar income levels. I dont know of an area like Dallas has where you can get a 3K sq.ft. home for 100K around here, but there definitely are MANY cheap and safe suburbs out here.

This is very true. There are a lot of affordable suburbs in the Chicagoland area with reasonably priced homes and an excellent quality of life.

[Dave1215]

Omaha/Lincoln metro area in Nebraska. Decent median wages, reasonably priced homes, generally lower cost of living, lots of national employers, great for tech and medical jobs, generally low crime levels, great quality of life, and lots of higher education choices.

In fact one town in that metro area is Papillion and it was recently named as the 6th Best Place to Live in US by CNN/Money Magazine - a number of these factors were stated reasons for the high ranking.

[gimme it]

This is an excellent question. I look forward to seeing more responses.

[lovethewest]

I think St. Louis was ranked one of the most affordable metro areas, and I believe it. I'm always surprised by the nice homes people in our straight out of college can afford with a small income. Granted they're not mansions, but they're nice homes.

[GraniteStater]

Omaha
Des Moines
Cedar Rapids
Madison
Nashville
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston
Oklahoma City
Chicago
Grand Rapids

[rainrock]

I'll give a shout out to metro Philadelphia. 3 affordable area towns placed in Money magazines top 15 Best Places to Live(2007), no other metro had more than 2 in the top 50 I believe. Philadelphia area has a very nice landscape,outstanding economy but isn't located right on the coast/waterfront e.g., NYC, Bos,Chic,SF,LA which in turn leads to more affordable housing and more oppurtunities for the middle class.

Money Magazines Top 100- Best Places to Live.

Best Places to Live 2007 - Money Magazine