US & Canadian Cities by Purchasing Power: Houston, Dallas & Ann Arbor Lead Top 3

[vivo]

This is by MSA, correct?

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by vivo

This is by MSA, correct?

This appears to be by city proper.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Generally speaking, Purchasing Power refers to the disposable income (i.e. income after taxes and social contributions, including received transfer payments) of a certain region's population.

It looks like New York is the benchmark for this ranking.

US & Canadian Cities Ranked by Purchasing Power
1 Houston, TX, United States 172.98
2 Dallas, TX, United States 170.66
3 Ann Arbor, MI, United States 159.99
4 Austin, TX, United States 158.21
5 San Jose, CA, United States 157.39
6 Fremont, CA, United States 157.35
7 Jersey City, NJ, United States 155.89
8 Santa Clara, CA, United States 155.41
9 Columbus, OH, United States 151.29
10 Seattle, WA, United States 145.39
11 Charlotte, NC, United States 144.88
12 Jacksonville, FL, United States 144.30
13 Raleigh, NC, United States 144.12
14 Salt Lake City, UT, United States 140.61
15 San Antonio, TX, United States 137.67
16 Colorado Springs, CO, United States 137.64
17 Baltimore, MD, United States 136.13
18 Phoenix, AZ, United States 135.94
19 Chicago, IL, United States 135.26
20 San Francisco, CA, United States 133.16
21 Madison, WI, United States 132.13
22 Tulsa, OK, United States 132.05
23 Little Rock, AR, United States 131.07
24 Richmond, VA, United States 130.94
25 Atlanta, GA, United States 130.67
26 Denver, CO, United States 129.98
27 Albany, NY, United States 129.75
28 Oklahoma City, OK, United States 127.95
29 San Diego, CA, United States 127.94
30 Kansas City, MO, United States 127.20
31 Los Angeles, CA, United States 126.12
32 Vancouver, WA, United States 126.09
33 Cleveland, OH, United States 125.32
34 Cincinnati, OH, United States 125.17
35 Las Vegas, NV, United States 124.83
36 Buffalo, NY, United States 124.36
37 Red Deer, Canada 123.94
38 Orlando, FL, United States 123.32
39 Saint Louis, MO, United States 123.20
40 Albuquerque, NM, United States 122.44
41 Washington, DC, United States 121.83
42 Indianapolis, IN, United States 121.53
43 Charleston, SC, United States 121.26
44 Wichita, KS, United States 119.24
45 El Paso, TX, United States 118.77
46 Anchorage, AK, United States 118.63
47 Fresno, CA, United States 116.40
48 Boston, MA, United States 115.72
49 Philadelphia, PA, United States 115.61
50 Pittsburgh, PA, United States 115.50
51 Minneapolis, MN, United States 114.68
52 Calgary, Canada 114.16
53 Fort Worth, TX, United States 112.62
54 Spokane, WA, United States 112.36
55 Oakland, CA, United States 111.73
56 Nashville, TN, United States 111.46
57 Detroit, MI, United States 110.05
58 North Vancouver, Canada 110.05
59 Long Beach, CA, United States 110.03
60 Memphis, TN, United States 109.95
61 Louisville, KY, United States 109.65
62 Edmonton, Canada 109.54
63 Milwaukee, WI, United States 109.19
64 Olympia, WA, United States 108.83
65 Markham, Canada 108.69
66 Des Moines, IA, United States 108.35
67 Portland, OR, United States 108.09
68 Saint Paul, MN, United States 106.63
69 Omaha, NE, United States 106.03
70 Queens, NY, United States 105.72
71 Plano, TX, United States 105.41
72 Durham, NC, United States 104.76
73 Regina, Canada 104.02
74 Brampton, Canada 103.49
75 Mesa, AZ, United States 103.42
76 Akron, OH, United States 102.89
77 Lexington, KY, United States 102.40
78 Everett, WA, United States 101.79
79 Winnipeg, Canada 101.59
80 Sacramento, CA, United States 101.43
81 Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States 101.32
82 Toronto, Canada 101.29
83 London, Canada 100.36
84 Fort Collins, CO, United States 100.34
85 Rochester, NY, United States 100.12

86 New York, NY, United States 100.00

87 Mississauga, Canada 99.70
88 Tampa, FL, United States 98.28
89 Surrey, Canada 98.13
90 Reno, NV, United States 96.91
91 Ottawa, Canada 94.30
92 Asheville, NC, United States 94.16
93 Santa Barbara, CA, United States 93.86
94 Miami, FL, United States 93.71
95 New Orleans, LA, United States 92.88
96 Greensboro, NC, United States 92.73
97 Chattanooga, TN, United States 91.70
98 Toledo, OH, United States 90.45
99 Montreal, Canada 89.93
100 Honolulu, HI, United States 89.24
101 Salem, OR, United States 89.20
102 Victoria, Canada 89.12
103 Eugene, OR, United States 88.21
104 Saskatoon, Canada 88.18
105 Halifax, Canada 87.92
106 Vancouver, Canada 87.68
107 Quebec City, Canada 87.22
108 Hamilton, Canada 86.35
109 Berkeley, CA, United States 85.78
110 Iowa City, IA, United States 85.03
111 Birmingham, AL, United States 84.93
112 Tucson, AZ, United States 83.69
113 Boise, ID, United States 82.63
114 Guelph, Canada 79.64
115 Hamilton, Bermuda 79.43
116 Dayton, OH, United States 79.21
117 Syracuse, NY, United States 78.44
118 Kelowna, Canada 77.45
119 Kingston, Canada 75.42
120 Kitchener, Canada 73.85
121 St.Catharines, Canada 71.18
122 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 62.75
123 Windsor, Canada 58.02
124 Nanaimo, BC, Canada 57.49

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

To see areas that have affordable housing like Dayton, Tuscon and Birmingham, ranked so low tells me, wages/income are pretty poor.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by walker1962

To see areas that have affordable housing like Dayton, Tuscon and Birmingham, ranked so low tells me, wages/income are pretty poor.

I don't know, as Syracuse's Average Annual Wage according to May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics is only between $3-4k less than that of Ann Arbor, which is more expensive and is slightly higher than Rochester's for all occupations.

Syracuse: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45060.htm#00-0000

Ann Arbor: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_11460.htm#00-0000

Rochester: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40380.htm#00-0000

Source, if you want to look at other areas: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm

So, I'm really curious to see how they came to this conclusion, even when using just the city proper, as you would think Rochester and Syracuse would essentially be the same then.

Then, I looked at their cost of living list here:Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

This is suspect, as Albany is not more affordable than the other bigger Upstate areas. It does have a higher average annual pay, but its cost of living is usually a little bit higher too. So, I'm really wondering about their criteria now.

[Landolakes90]

Originally Posted by Natnasci

How were these cities chosen?

It seems odd to me that North Vancouver ( the list doesn't state which North Vancouver, there are two, separate entities from each other ) is on the list, but the city of West Vancouver isn't, which is a much wealthier city than it's neighbouring North Vancouver's and would most likely have a much higher rating.

I'm still kind of stuck on this part. There doesn't seem to be any continuity in how these cities/suburbs were chosen, or why other cities (which in some cases anchor million+ metros) were not included.

[Landolakes90]

Originally Posted by walker1962

To see areas that have affordable housing like Dayton, Tuscon and Birmingham, ranked so low tells me, wages/income are pretty poor.

This study was done based on city proper only. Cities like Dayton and Birmingham which have a binary city/suburb poverty divide are going to perform poorly. If you looked at their regions as a whole I have a strong suspicion they perform at or above average when it comes to this metric.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Generally speaking, Purchasing Power refers to the disposable income (i.e. income after taxes and social contributions, including received transfer payments) of a certain region's population.

It looks like New York is the benchmark for this ranking.

US & Canadian Cities Ranked by Purchasing Power
1 Houston, TX, United States 172.98
2 Dallas, TX, United States 170.66
3 Ann Arbor, MI, United States 159.99
4 Austin, TX, United States 158.21
5 San Jose, CA, United States 157.39
6 Fremont, CA, United States 157.35
7 Jersey City, NJ, United States 155.89
8 Santa Clara, CA, United States 155.41
9 Columbus, OH, United States 151.29
10 Seattle, WA, United States 145.39
11 Charlotte, NC, United States 144.88
12 Jacksonville, FL, United States 144.30
13 Raleigh, NC, United States 144.12
14 Salt Lake City, UT, United States 140.61
15 San Antonio, TX, United States 137.67
16 Colorado Springs, CO, United States 137.64
17 Baltimore, MD, United States 136.13
18 Phoenix, AZ, United States 135.94
19 Chicago, IL, United States 135.26
20 San Francisco, CA, United States 133.16
21 Madison, WI, United States 132.13
22 Tulsa, OK, United States 132.05
23 Little Rock, AR, United States 131.07
24 Richmond, VA, United States 130.94
25 Atlanta, GA, United States 130.67
26 Denver, CO, United States 129.98
27 Albany, NY, United States 129.75
28 Oklahoma City, OK, United States 127.95
29 San Diego, CA, United States 127.94
30 Kansas City, MO, United States 127.20
31 Los Angeles, CA, United States 126.12
32 Vancouver, WA, United States 126.09
33 Cleveland, OH, United States 125.32
34 Cincinnati, OH, United States 125.17
35 Las Vegas, NV, United States 124.83
36 Buffalo, NY, United States 124.36
37 Red Deer, Canada 123.94
38 Orlando, FL, United States 123.32
39 Saint Louis, MO, United States 123.20
40 Albuquerque, NM, United States 122.44
41 Washington, DC, United States 121.83
42 Indianapolis, IN, United States 121.53
43 Charleston, SC, United States 121.26
44 Wichita, KS, United States 119.24
45 El Paso, TX, United States 118.77
46 Anchorage, AK, United States 118.63
47 Fresno, CA, United States 116.40
48 Boston, MA, United States 115.72
49 Philadelphia, PA, United States 115.61
50 Pittsburgh, PA, United States 115.50
51 Minneapolis, MN, United States 114.68
52 Calgary, Canada 114.16
53 Fort Worth, TX, United States 112.62
54 Spokane, WA, United States 112.36
55 Oakland, CA, United States 111.73
56 Nashville, TN, United States 111.46
57 Detroit, MI, United States 110.05
58 North Vancouver, Canada 110.05
59 Long Beach, CA, United States 110.03
60 Memphis, TN, United States 109.95
61 Louisville, KY, United States 109.65
62 Edmonton, Canada 109.54
63 Milwaukee, WI, United States 109.19
64 Olympia, WA, United States 108.83
65 Markham, Canada 108.69
66 Des Moines, IA, United States 108.35
67 Portland, OR, United States 108.09
68 Saint Paul, MN, United States 106.63
69 Omaha, NE, United States 106.03
70 Queens, NY, United States 105.72
71 Plano, TX, United States 105.41
72 Durham, NC, United States 104.76
73 Regina, Canada 104.02
74 Brampton, Canada 103.49
75 Mesa, AZ, United States 103.42
76 Akron, OH, United States 102.89
77 Lexington, KY, United States 102.40
78 Everett, WA, United States 101.79
79 Winnipeg, Canada 101.59
80 Sacramento, CA, United States 101.43
81 Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States 101.32
82 Toronto, Canada 101.29
83 London, Canada 100.36
84 Fort Collins, CO, United States 100.34
85 Rochester, NY, United States 100.12

86 New York, NY, United States 100.00

87 Mississauga, Canada 99.70
88 Tampa, FL, United States 98.28
89 Surrey, Canada 98.13
90 Reno, NV, United States 96.91
91 Ottawa, Canada 94.30
92 Asheville, NC, United States 94.16
93 Santa Barbara, CA, United States 93.86
94 Miami, FL, United States 93.71
95 New Orleans, LA, United States 92.88
96 Greensboro, NC, United States 92.73
97 Chattanooga, TN, United States 91.70
98 Toledo, OH, United States 90.45
99 Montreal, Canada 89.93
100 Honolulu, HI, United States 89.24
101 Salem, OR, United States 89.20
102 Victoria, Canada 89.12
103 Eugene, OR, United States 88.21
104 Saskatoon, Canada 88.18
105 Halifax, Canada 87.92
106 Vancouver, Canada 87.68
107 Quebec City, Canada 87.22
108 Hamilton, Canada 86.35
109 Berkeley, CA, United States 85.78
110 Iowa City, IA, United States 85.03
111 Birmingham, AL, United States 84.93
112 Tucson, AZ, United States 83.69
113 Boise, ID, United States 82.63
114 Guelph, Canada 79.64
115 Hamilton, Bermuda 79.43
116 Dayton, OH, United States 79.21
117 Syracuse, NY, United States 78.44
118 Kelowna, Canada 77.45
119 Kingston, Canada 75.42
120 Kitchener, Canada 73.85
121 St.Catharines, Canada 71.18
122 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 62.75
123 Windsor, Canada 58.02
124 Nanaimo, BC, Canada 57.49

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

I was also a little surprise at the ranking until I considered the city proper instead of MSA.

St. Louis, Minneapolis and Detroit should rank higher at the MSA level. Nashville and Memphis seems about right. I'm also surprised at the Pennsylvania cities even if they are considering city limits only.

[Logicist027]

Visual Capitalist did this awhile ago. They compare both purchasing power & COL against other cities in the world. It turns out Houston & Dallas are #1 & #2 on that as well. Check it out.