Personal Finance

The 15 US cities where it's easiest to save money

Written by Tanza Loudenback

2017-05-23T15:00:00Z

San Antonio Texas — In many Southern cities, including San Antonio, wages tend to keep up with cost of living. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

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It's no secret: Most Americans are bad at saving money. But our own shortcomings are not entirely to blame. Geography actually plays a significant role in our ability to sock away cash — specifically, the relationship between cost of living and income in any given city.

That's according to GoBankingRates' latest study, which gathered data for the 60 largest US cities to determine where it's easiest to save money, or the places where the average person has money left over after covering expenses.

For its ranking, GoBankingRates considered seven factors indicative of financial well-being:

Median household income: in 2015 dollars according to U.S. Census QuickFacts.
Unemployment rate: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' February 2017 data on unemployment rates for metro areas.
Median home list price: according to Zillow data from March 2017.
Median rent price: according to Zillow data from March 2017.
Average gas price: average reported gas prices from GasBuddy as of April 21, 2017.
Average monthly cost of groceries: grocery costs based on recommended minimum amount of food per person from Numbeo data on April 21, 2017.
Sales tax: according to TaxFoundation.org 2016 data.

All seven metrics were weighted equally by GOBankingRates and given a score between 0 and 1, then added together for a total score indicating final rank. The list includes multiple cities in both Arizona and Texas, as well as a few in the Midwest, and one increasingly desirable city out West.

Below, check out the full list of the 15 best cities to save money.

15. Raleigh, North Carolina

Population: 451,066

Median income: $55,398

Median home listing price: $299,900

Median monthly rent: $1,367

14. Portland, Oregon

Population: 632,309

Median income: $55,003

Median home listing price: $422,450

Median monthly rent: $1,895

13. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Population: 403,505

Median income: $42,284

Median home listing price: $162,500

Median monthly rent: $975

12. Mesa, Arizona

Population: 471,825

Median income: $48,809

Median home listing price: $243,000

Median monthly rent: $1,325

11. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Population: 456,568

Median income: $54,527

Median home listing price: $295,000

Median monthly rent: $1,450

10. Phoenix, Arizona

Population: 1,563,025

Median income: $47,326

Median home listing price: $255,000

Median monthly rent: $1,350

9. El Paso, Texas

Population: 681,124

Median income: $42,772

Median home listing price: $155,150

Median monthly rent: $1,100

8. Tucson, Arizona

Population: 531,641

Median income: $37,149

Median home listing price: $184,500

Median monthly rent: $1,150

7. Wichita, Kansas

Population: 389,965

Median income: $45,947

Median home listing price: $137,250

Median monthly rent: $897

6. Kansas City, Missouri

Population: 475,378

Median income: $45,821

Median home listing price: $177,500

Median monthly rent: $897

5. Arlington, Texas

Population: 388,125

Median income: $53,326

Median home listing price: $199,000

Median monthly rent: $1,495

4. Omaha, Nebraska

Population: 443,885

Median income: $49,896

Median home listing price: $214,000

Median monthly rent: $1,200

3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Population: 631,346

Median income: $47,779

Median home listing price: $179,900

Median monthly rent: $995

2. San Antonio, Texas

Population: 1,469,845

Median income: $46,744

Median home listing price: $232,443

Median monthly rent: $1,200

1. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Population: 452,745

Median income: $66,634

Median home listing price: $279,900

Median monthly rent: $1,600

Tanza Loudenback

Tanza is a CFP® professional and former correspondent for Personal Finance Insider. She broke down personal finance news and wrote about taxes, investing, retirement, wealth building, and debt management. She helmed a biweekly newsletter and a column answering reader questions about money. Tanza is the author of two ebooks, A Guide to Financial Planners and "The One-Month Plan to Master your Money."In 2020, Tanza was the editorial lead on Master Your Money, a yearlong original series providing financial tools, advice, and inspiration to millennials.Tanza joined Business Insider in June 2015 and is an alumna of Elon University, where she studied journalism and Italian. She is based in Los Angeles.