Prosperous: People living in Plano, Texas, have the best chance to increase
their wealth, according to a new survey by Salary.com. Based on U.S. Census
data, the 2008 Salary Value Index uses various criteria to rank 69 cities with
at least 250,000 residents. It examined local salaries, cost of living, state
unemployment rates and numerous qualitative factors, including diversity of
industry, average education levels, proximity to secondary educational
institutions, the percentage of people living below the poverty level, and
median commuting time. Rounding out the top five cities are Aurora, Colorado;
Omaha, Nebraska, Minneapolis; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The five worst cities are New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Honolulu and San
Francisco.
According to Salary.com, cities atop the list are undergoing growth and
change, offer “appealing amenities” and are home to many of the nation’s largest
companies. Cities bringing up the rear, meanwhile, “typically represent the
places where living is the most expensive and pay differentials are not
proportionately inflated,” thus canceling out other benefits.
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