For most Minnesota families, it's long been an indicator of strong financial footing. An income of six-figures puts you squarely in the "middle class". But for those that live in Minneapolis, a new finding by Magnify Money, a subsidiary of Lending Tree is showing how little that income leaves for the city's residents. Some cities have situations that not only leave families scraping by, but actually unable to cover basic needs.
For this study, they looked at data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and considered housing costs, transportation, childcare, food, retirement contributions, utilities and what normally comes with a 'typical family budget'.
Minneapolis dropped in at #10 in the rankings of the "Worst places in the U.S. to make six figures". It's a list that includes the usual suspects in high costs such as San Jose, CA (and the booming tech industry there), Washington D.C., San Francisco, Boston, Bridgeport, Conn. (the highest income state in the U.S.), Honolulu, and New York.
Then there is Minneapolis, the only Midwestern city on the list. What is keeping Minneapolis families from feeling comfortable on $100,000 a year? You guessed it, taxes. State taxes are by far the highest in the top 10 at $439/month, more than double cities in California. Of course, there are benefits to those taxes with a very high quality of life in the city.
Housing costs run families $1,953 a month, with food, retirement savings, transportation, utilities and childcare right in line with other cities on the list. After all the monthly bills are paid, Minneapolis families have an average of $149 in disposable income.
Click here to see the entire rankings from Magnify Money.