Here's a 2011 USNWR table of interest:
Below are the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest adjusted median household incomes, as computed from 2009 median household income and cost of living data.
| Metro Area | COLI | 2009 Median Household Income | 2009 Adjusted Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines, Iowa | 90.6 | $56,576 | $62,446 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. | 138.6 | 85,168 | 61,449 |
| Worcester, Mass. | 103.7 | 63,360 | 61,099 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas | 89.3 | 54,146 | 60,634 |
| Ogden-Clearfield, Utah* | 100 | 60,208 | 60,208 |
| Colorado Springs, Colo. | 92.3 | 55,176 | 59,779 |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas | 92.1 | 54,539 | 59,217 |
| Madison, Wisc.* | 96.2 | 56,709 | 58,949 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. | 94.2 | 55,464 | 58,879 |
| Raleigh-Cary, N.C. | 101.3 | 59,316 | 58,555 |
The weather isn't great in Des Moines, but the scenery isn't quite as flat as I expected from Illinois. (Here's the Waveland golf course, for instance.)
D.C. is expensive, but the people who live there seem to be good decision makers about making money. It's almost like they know things we don't know, as if they have inside information.
Most of the rest of the list are the Dirt Gap usual suspects.
| Metro Area | COLI | 2009 Median Household Income | 2009 Adjusted Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas | 87.2 | 30,460 | 34,931 |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. | 177.8 | 62,887 | 35,370 |
| Modesto, Calif.* | 136.6 | 48,716 | 35,663 |
| Fresno, Calif. | 120.1 | 45,661 | 38,019 |
| El Paso, Texas | 89.7 | 36,146 | 40,297 |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | 166.3 | 67,744 | 40,736 |
| Springfield, Mass.* | 119.8 | 49,177 | 41,049 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. | 141.6 | 58,525 | 41,331 |
| Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. | 109.8 | 45,946 | 41,845 |
| Scranton—Wilkes-Barre, Pa.* | 98.1 | 41,823 | 42,633 |
Now, I would argue that Honolulu, New York, Miami, and L.A., have other things going for them that aren't measured in these statistics (e.g., nice weather or attractive women). But what do McAllen, Modesto, and Fresno have going for them? Cheap chalupas?
The Worcester, MA v. Springfield, MA conundrum is a little strange. They are both very old manufacturing cities. Worcester is 48 miles west of downtown Boston, while Springfield is 91 miles west, so Worcester might be an exurb now with big city salaries, while Springfield is too far to commute to the Boston area, while Hartford 27 miles to the south is decaying. But I don't really know much about Massachusetts. Springfield is 1/3rd Puerto Rican, which doesn't help median income stats.
