As your income goes up, so will your tax rates. In 2024, a $250,000 income ekes a single tax filer into the 35% federal income tax bracket. On top of that, you may need to factor in state and city taxes. And, depending on where you live, the cost of living could also take a bigger bite out of the value of your dollar.
To find where high earners retain more of their income, SmartAsset adjusted a $250,000 income for federal, state and local taxes, as well as varying costs of living for 72 of the largest U.S. cities.
Key findings
Cities are ranked by the purchasing power of $250K after accounting for federal, state and local taxes as well as cost of living premiums relative to the U.S. average.
Data and methodology
This study used SmartAsset's paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 for an individual. This online tool calculates your take-home pay per paycheck for both salary and hourly jobs after taking into account federal, state and local taxes. We then adjusted the remaining amount for the local cost of living in 72 of the largest cities in the U.S. using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. The cost of living takes into account the price of housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services. Cost of living index data is averaged across 2023.
This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.