The Best and Worst U.S. Cities for Saving Money (2024)

The Best and Worst U.S. Cities for Saving Money

Author

David specializes in data, data journalism, and all topics related to homeownership. He’s won multiple national awards for content marketing and comes from strong background in journalism. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, CNN, Buzzfeed, Business Insider, Good Morning America, ESPN, and many more.

Reviewer

Lora Novak

Reviewed By

Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

Updated On

November 14, 2023

While we all know that money doesn’t grow on trees (although we wish it did), saving money is something most people work towards. Paying rent or a mortgage payment, student loan debt, and just everyday bills add up and make it hard to build up your savings. Where you live has an impact on your cost of living, impacting how you save money.

Learn how the best home warranty can save you money.

With that in mind, Today’s Homeowner did some research to find the best cities in the U.S. for saving money. To do this, we analyzed data for the 100 largest cities and ranked them according to five factors, such as percent of median income to median home mortgage, the average cost of gas, percent of median income to cost of groceries, and more. Read on for the complete rankings and methodology.

Main Findings

Best Cities for Saving Money

Overall Rank (1 = better)	City, State	Overall Score	Yearly Cost of Living Rank	Daily Cost of Living Rank
1	Plano, TX	46.5	3	14
2	Gilbert, AZ	45.32	1	66
3	Chandler, AZ	44.61	2	73
4	Chesapeake, VA	43.13	13	64
5	Irving, TX	42.48	14	30
6	Scottsdale, AZ	42.33	10	72
7	Henderson, NV	42	7	45
8	Wichita, KS	41.31	8	7
9	Arlington, TX	41.27	9	95
10	Anchorage, AK	41.21	4	100
11	Omaha, NE	40.79	11	37
12	Oklahoma City, OK	40.64	15	63
13	Fort Wayne, IN	40.59	5	89
14	Garland, TX	40.52	19	52
15	Virginia Beach, VA	40.49	29	44
16	El Paso, TX	40.29	21	54
17	Nashville, TN	40.08	16	28
18	Fort Worth, TX	40.04	22	43
19	Corpus Christi, TX	39.92	18	65
20	Laredo, TX	39.56	20	88
21	Lincoln, NE	39.53	12	20
22	Austin, TX	39.52	36	92
23	Boise, ID	39.22	17	77
24	Lexington, KY	39.2	32	46
25	St. Petersburg, FL	39.01	26	59
26	Albuquerque, NM	38.91	24	98
27	Louisville, KY	38.56	25	22
28	Raleigh, NC	38.52	23	78
29	Spokane, WA	38.28	6	70
30	Madison, WI	38.25	51	19
31	Saint Paul, MN	37.78	38	23
32	Colorado Springs, CO	37.73	27	97
33	Charlotte, NC	37.64	48	71
34	Kansas City, MO	37.59	37	29
35	Minneapolis, MN	37.49	49	82
36	Mesa, AZ	37.36	30	26
37	Tulsa, OK	37.35	35	17
38	Lubbock, TX	37.08	46	34
39	Phoenix, AZ	36.88	31	12
40	Fremont, CA	36.77	42	42
41	Seattle, WA	36.71	34	3
42	San Antonio, TX	36.61	43	35
43	Columbus, OH	36.28	40	96
44	Jacksonville, FL	36.14	28	41
45	Houston, TX	36.08	61	27
46	Atlanta, GA	35.96	53	93
47	Indianapolis, IN	35.79	39	36
48	Washington, DC	35.52	60	8
49	Glendale, AZ	35.45	33	47
50	Denver, CO	35.39	58	61
51	Winston–Salem, NC	35.19	44	40
52	North Las Vegas, NV	35.11	47	84
53	Durham, NC	34.99	56	81
54	Dallas, TX	34.98	63	53
55	Las Vegas, NV	34.68	50	31
56	Tampa, FL	34.67	57	1
57	Tucson, AZ	34.4	45	9
58	Cincinnati, OH	34.33	55	67
59	Aurora, CO	34.06	66	87
60	Greensboro, NC	33.95	54	38
61	Reno, NV	33.71	41	32
62	Portland, OR	33.53	59	50
63	San Jose, CA	33.23	68	5
64	Pittsburgh, PA	33.13	52	16
65	Orlando, FL	32.9	71	18
66	San Francisco, CA	31.89	67	56
67	St. Louis, MO	31.79	64	60
68	Richmond, VA	31.77	78	10
69	Baton Rouge, LA	31.64	69	79
70	Milwaukee, WI	31.49	70	15
71	Jersey City, NJ	31.47	84	90
72	Chicago, IL	31.01	73	75
73	Chula Vista, CA	30.95	76	83
74	Norfolk, VA	30.87	79	58
75	Bakersfield, CA	30.5	62	94
76	Baltimore, MD	30.18	80	86
77	Toledo, OH	30.09	65	51
78	Riverside, CA	29.89	72	11
79	Memphis, TN	29.88	75	25
80	Sacramento, CA	29.36	74	6
81	Irvine, CA	27.97	90	39
82	Boston, MA	27.86	91	85
83	San Diego, CA	27.58	87	4
84	Philadelphia, PA	27.44	77	62
85	Anaheim, CA	27.24	88	99
86	Santa Ana, CA	26.72	92	74
87	Buffalo, NY	26.58	81	68
88	Fresno, CA	26.02	82	76
89	Stockton, CA	25.8	83	2
90	Oakland, CA	25.68	85	13
91	Honolulu, HI	25.54	86	91
92	Long Beach, CA	23.39	93	24
93	Cleveland, OH	23.35	89	80
94	New York, NY	19.8	97	57
95	Detroit, MI	19.7	94	55
96	Los Angeles, CA	19.44	96	48
97	New Orleans, LA	18.34	95	21
98	Hialeah, FL	18.03	98	49
99	Miami, FL	14.98	99	33
100	Newark, NJ	10.24	100	69

Summary

The top city for saving money is Plano, Texas. Plano ranked well in all five factors, with a low cost of gas and no income tax. The combined factors pushed Plano, TX to the top spot. Coming in in the number two spot is Gilbert, Arizona. Gilbert holds the top spot for percent of median income to median home mortgage and comes in third for the cost of groceries. The other cities that round out the top five are Chandler, AZ, Chesapeake, Virginia, and Irving, TX.

Methodology

To find the best and worst cities for saving money, we collected data for the 100 largest cities in the United States and analyzed under the following two categories:

Yearly cost of living
Daily cost of living

In all, there were five factors across those two larger categories that are listed below along with their corresponding weights. Each city was graded on an 50-point scale, with a score of 50 representing the ideal city for saving money.

Finally, we calculated each city’s weighted average across all categories to determine its Overall Score and used the results to rank-order our sample.

Yearly cost of living — 30 points

Percent of median income to median home mortgage — 1.5 Weight
Percent of median income to median rent — 1.5 Weight
State income tax burden – Half Weight

Daily cost of living — 20 points

Average cost of gasoline — Half Weight
Percent of median income to cost of groceries — Full Weight

Sources

U.S. Census
GasBuddy.com
Numbeo
Bureau of Labor Statistics