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As I drove through countless towns on a month long cross country trip, I was always thinking about how different life is for most middle class Americans living in so called fly over country between NYC and LA. Most people I came in contact with were middle class doing relatively routine jobs. (Secretary, Bank Teller, Barber, Cashier, Plummer, Clerk, Truck Driver, etc.)
Think of people doing these common jobs full time in a place like Omaha NB, Mobile AL, Little Rock AR, Jackson MS, etc. How are they doing relative to pay vs. cost of living, in comparison to people doing the same jobs in places like New York, Washington, Seattle or LA?
Is the higher pay in the boom towns on the east and west coasts paying these folks enough additional pay to cover the increased cost of living? I always hear that the pay is so low in smaller towns and the result is there is more struggle. Is this true?
Who can get a nicer home and buy more things that they want or need, the Secretary in a booming city with the higher cost of living on the coast or the secretary living in Omaha or Little Rock? (Based on the typical salaries of people in equal jobs and equal experience, skills and education.)
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Federal minimum wage goes a lot farther in Kentucky, Tennessee or Alabama than in New York, California or or Washington. Some of that has been remedied by higher state or city minimum wages, however even at the eventual $15/hour in Seattle those making $7.50 can be better off in other states if rent is that much cheaper. For those in the low end middle class jobs it may be that they get enough to live on but find it impossible to buy a home. For example the median home price in our city is now at $702k, in Mobile it's $160k, yet the same job may not pay much different salary.
We currently live in Illinois and with the taxes (property, state, etc.) and just the COL in general, I don't think you'll find what you consider a middle class cashier or bank teller here unless their spouse is bringing in the majority of the household's income. Plus, if you're too far to commute to a large city, like Chicago, then you're likely facing a scarcity of jobs. But, then again that's true in most of the U.S., if you're far from a major city you likely don't have many middle-class type jobs available to you. Lots of lower end service stuff like clerk at a gas station mart, cashier at a small store, etc.
We did live in Tennessee prior to moving here for my spouse's job, and I can say without a doubt your money does go farther there than it does here. So there are definitely places where you can get by on less, but if you're making close to minimum wage in a state like Tennessee, you're still not middle class. Yet you're definitely a lot more comfortable making minimum wager there than here.
Interestingly, I did one line of work in Florida and Tennessee (neither state is known for high wages) and looked for work in Illinois doing it, but the pay is less than I was making in either state (and many years ago). So keep in mind the job market for your skill set, too.
Plumbers and truck drivers usually make more money than a cashier.
So people so far think that there is no jobs in many places with a low cost of living. Lets change my question to the mix of income to cost of living in places like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, or Tulsa to do the same jobs in a place like LA, San Francisco, Seattle or Washington DC. Is the standard of living higher or lower in those middle American Cities for the same job as in the most expensive cities on the coast?
Skilled Secretary in Nashville: $30K a year, or Skilled Secretary in Washington DC, at 40K a year, which person has a higher standard of living economically? (Both work for the same type of company and do the same things and have the same type of background and education, etc.)
Who can get a nicer home and buy more things that they want or need, the Secretary in a booming city with the higher cost of living on the coast or the secretary living in Omaha or Little Rock? (Based on the typical salaries of people in equal jobs and equal experience, skills and education.)
The secretary in Omaha or Little Rock, of course. However, they will still find their standard of living slipping compared to what it was back 30 years ago, and of course in smaller places there aren't as many jobs to go around.
(But if you can get a high paying skilled job in one of those places, you'll be in hog heaven!)
We live in Louisiana now and before that Northern VA, and I see more poverty down here, but for folks who can get a decent job (my husband, for example, works for the feds), your money definitely goes further. I do think people live a little more modestly down here - you do have the big houses but nothing like the McMansions in NOVA and other richer areas. Most people have ranchers or even trailers if they live out in the country. Family size also tends to be bigger, so even if your money goes further, there may be more mouths to feed??? If you have five or six kids you may still live in a 3-bd house. Plus people might spend more in mileage than people close to a big city.
Hard to say where you get more bang for your buck - it could depend too what your priorities are too and what you factor into CoL (more land, culture, restaurants, gas-guzzling truck, etc) As my friend who lives in rural WV always says: "It's all a tradeoff."
Is the higher pay in the boom towns on the east and west coasts paying these folks enough additional pay to cover the increased cost of living?
The higher income from ordinary jobs in expensive areas practically never makes up for the higher cost of living. Most of the time, it's not even close.
So people so far think that there is no jobs in many places with a low cost of living. Lets change my question to the mix of income to cost of living in places like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, or Tulsa to do the same jobs in a place like LA, San Francisco, Seattle or Washington DC. Is the standard of living higher or lower in those middle American Cities for the same job as in the most expensive cities on the coast?
With very few exceptions, the people in the low cost places (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, etc.) have a higher standard of living over the high cost places. Hands down.
With very few exceptions, the people in the low cost places (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, etc.) have a higher standard of living over the high cost places. Hands down.
Those aren't the flyover areas the OP was talking about. You're citing industrialized areas that have low housing cost and anti-union law. ATL and DFW are hardly flyover places.
Look more closely at a true flyover place. Housing is cheap but for what middle and working class people spend money on, everything else is within 20% of what it costs in a major east coast or west coast city. The other notable exception is daycare. What I think you'll find is that in high cost areas, working class people have no choice but to self-segregate to less desirable towns with lower housing cost. Their income is much higher than they could receive in a flyover place so they do slightly better but at the cost of living in a place where most wouldn't want to raise a family. Of course, this is why working class people from both flyover areas and high cost areas are moving to places like CLT, ATL, and DFW.
Federal minimum wage goes a lot farther in Kentucky, Tennessee or Alabama than in New York, California or or Washington. Some of that has been remedied by higher state or city minimum wages, however even at the eventual $15/hour in Seattle those making $7.50 can be better off in other states if rent is that much cheaper. For those in the low end middle class jobs it may be that they get enough to live on but find it impossible to buy a home. For example the median home price in our city is now at $702k, in Mobile it's $160k, yet the same job may not pay much different salary.
What is the reason for such a big difference in col
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