The 25 US cities where a middle-class American salary goes furthest

How far your paycheck can really go is often dependent on your geography.

A $55,000 salary — what the median American family earns, according to SmartAsset, citing US Census Bureau data from the 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates — may not get you very far in a big city with a high cost of living like New York or San Francisco. But it could stretch for miles elsewhere.

SmartAsset recently released a list of the best places to live on $55,000 a year. To determine this list, it found the cities with a median household income range of $50,000 to $60,000 — 126 cities, to be exact. It then ranked each city based on nine metrics with equal ranking, which it then averaged. This was the foundation for the final score.

Turns out, some of the best places to live on the typical American salary are located in the Midwest — four of the top 10 cities are located in this region. Capital cities also take up four of the top 10 spots; they have strong economies thanks to state government employment opportunities, according to SmartAsset.

Below, see the top 25 places to live in the US on the typical American salary.

25. Springdale, Arkansas

Median household income: $51,152Percent of income spent on housing: 18.2%Average commute time: 20.1 minutes

24. New Braunfels, Texas

Median household income: $58,814Percent of income spent on housing: 24.4%Average commute time: 23.6 minutes

23. St. George, Utah

Median household income: $54,210Percent of income spent on housing: 21.2%Average commute time: 16.8 minutes

22. Parma, Ohio

Median household income: $54,588Percent of income spent on housing: 18.5%Average commute time: 24.6 minutes

21. Metairie, Louisiana

Median household income: $58,947Percent of income spent on housing: 20.9%Average commute time: 21.7 minutes

20. Portland, Maine

Median household income: $56,326Percent of income spent on housing: 25.8%Average commute time: 18.9 minutes

19. Sparks, Nevada

Median household income: $58,961Percent of income spent on housing: 25.2%Average commute time: 13 minutes

17 (TIE). Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Median household income: $52,355Percent of income spent on housing: 18.7%Average commute time: 16 minutes

17 (TIE). Lexington, Kentucky

Median household income: $56,137Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2%Average commute time: 20.8 minutes

16. Amarillo, Texas

Median household income: $51,263Percent of income spent on housing: 19%Average commute time: 18.3 minutes

15. Reno, Nevada

Median household income: $57,125Percent of income spent on housing: 22.1%Average commute time: 20.4 minutes

14. Asheville, North Carolina

Median household income: $50,184Percent of income spent on housing: 23.6%Average commute time: 17.8 minutes

13. Des Moines, Iowa

Median household income: $51,355Percent of income spent on housing: 19.8%Average commute time: 18.7 minutes

12. Wyoming, Michigan

Median household income: $56,774Percent of income spent on housing: 18.6%Average commute time: 21.8 minutes

11. Sioux City, Iowa

Median household income: $53,332Percent of income spent on housing: 16.3%Average commute time: 16.5 minutes

10. Omaha, Nebraska

Median household income: $56,406Percent of income spent on housing: 21.6%Average commute time: 18.3 minutes

8 (TIE). Boise City, Idaho

Median household income: $55,943Percent of income spent on housing: 20.7%Average commute time: 18.9 minutes

8 (TIE). Little Rock, Arkansas

Median household income: $57,534Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2%Average commute time: 18.3 minutes

7. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Median household income: $56,096Percent of income spent on housing: 19.1%Average commute time: 17.4 minutes

6. Cheektowaga, New York

Median household income: $53,502Percent of income spent on housing: 18.4%Average commute time: 19.5 minutes

5. Lincoln, Nebraska

Median household income: $56,160Percent of income spent on housing: 20.2%Average commute time: 19 minutes

4. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Median household income: $57,022Percent of income spent on housing: 22.4%Average commute time: 18.7 minutes

3. Appleton, Wisconsin

Median household income: $58,374Percent of income spent on housing: 19.8%Average commute time: 18.6 minutes

2. Billings, Montana

Median household income: $57,527Percent of income spent on housing: 20.8%Average commute time: 15.2 minutes

1. Fargo, North Dakota

Median household income: $59,542Percent of income spent on housing: 18.8%Average commute time: 14.9 minutes

The 25 US cities where a middle-class American salary goes furthest

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