Fascinating US map shows the real value of $100 in metro cities — Californians may not be too pleased

The cost of living, especially in big cities has soared through the roof in the last few years, adding to the parity of the dollar internally. For example, if you travel from New York to LA, you will see that the price of your favorite Starbucks drink varies quite a lot. This is due to the price level variation throughout the country which affects the value of the dollar. Tax Foundation used data from The Bureau of Economic Analysis and talked about the value of $100, depending on where you live.

In the map, it's evident that the value of $100 is the highest in the San Francisco Bay Area, where $100 would buy goods and services only worth $83.45 compared to the national average in 2021.

In contrast, the southeastern US is pretty affordable. While the nominal income in such parts appears lower, when adjusted for how much further a dollar can go, the incomes become relatively better as compared to the more expensive metropolitan areas in the United States.

The two metropolitan areas with the greatest disparity in price levels are the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California region and Anniston-Oxford, Alabama. The value of $100 in San Francisco was $83.45 as compared to $119.28 in Anniston-Oxford. This means that the purchasing power of people in the Anniston-Oxford area is 43 percent greater than in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area.

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward is followed by San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA where $100 can buy things worth $86.84, while in Urban Honolulu people can buy things worth $87.15 for $100. Prices in areas like Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL are really low, where people can buy things worth $116.95 for only $100. Other inexpensive areas in the nation include Kingsport-Bristol where $100 can buy things worth $116.44 while in Las Cruces, NM, the value of $100 is around $116.09. 

To view the full interactive map, please visit here.

Some States Are Better To Live in as Compared to Others

Taking regional price parity into consideration, some states are better to live in, especially for the younger generation who do not have a lot of money. 

According to CommercialCafe, cities like Austin in Texas, San Jose in California, Raleigh in North Carolina, and Harrisburg-Carlisle in Pennsylvania are some of the best places to move for millennials as well as Gen Z. These cities have scored well when it comes to sustained growth, and career opportunities making them great for many young people starting their lives. Besides high wages, these cities are also filled with young people enabling networking, and making it easy to pursue higher rungs of the ladder.

It was seen that the western part of the country offered more to millennials who want to enjoy high pay and peer presence. In particular, Denver stood out with the highest proportion of millennials in the Western region. According to the report, Denver’s millennials earned a respectable average income of $127,000 per year. In California, San Francisco and San Jose are both great for millennials working in the IT sector. Meanwhile, Utah offers an appealing combination of low unemployment rates and exceptional affordability, as per the platform.