In one of every four large American cities, a family can earn six figures and still feel broke. 

That’s the takeaway from an analysis by LendingTree, the personal finance site, which measured monthly expenses in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. 

In 25 of those 100 cities, average monthly spending on basic expenses exceeds monthly income for a family of three that is earning $100,000, the report found. San Jose tops the list, with average monthly expenses of $10,540. 

In salary terms, $100,000 "used to be a magic number that meant that someone had made it financially. That's clearly not the case anymore in much of the country," said Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree. "The fact that you can make six figures and be broke in so many of our biggest cities, even before you factor in debt payments, is definitely troubling. Unfortunately, the problem is only likely to get worse." 

To calculate expenses for a typical family of three, LendingTree looked at average costs to rent a two-bedroom apartment, monthly child care costs, car ownership and other transit costs, health insurance, food, entertainment and utilities, state and federal taxes, payroll taxes and 401(k) contributions. 

The report shows the limitations of a six-figure income, a paycheck that is above the national average and would deliver a comfortable lifestyle in at least some parts of the nation. The median household income was $80,610 in 2023.  

A $100,000 income means monthly paychecks of $8,333. LendingTree subtracted each city’s monthly expenses from that figure to see what was left: a negative number, in many cases. 

Here are some of the least affordable cities

Here is a sampling of cities with monthly expenses that exceed a $100,000 income: 

• San Francisco: Monthly expenses total $10,137, for a net monthly income of -$1,804 
• Boston: Monthly expenses, $9,946; net monthly income, -$1,613 
• Honolulu: Monthly expenses, $9,824; net monthly income, -$1,491 
• Washington, D.C.: Monthly expenses, $9,767; net monthly income, -$1,434 
• Seattle: Monthly expenses, $9,376; net monthly income, -$1,043 
• New York: Monthly expenses: $9,077; net monthly income, -$744 
• Denver: Monthly expenses, $8,963; net monthly income, -$630 
• Baltimore: Monthly expenses, $8,842; net monthly income, -$509 
• Portland, Oregon: Monthly expenses, $8,789; net monthly income, -$456 
• Minneapolis: Monthly expenses, $8,650; net monthly income, -$317 
• Hartford, Connecticut: Monthly expenses, $8,423; net monthly income, -$90 

. . . And here are some of the most affordable cities

The report also identified 75 large cities where monthly expenses come in below $100,000 a year: well below, in some cases.  

Here are some cities that are relatively affordable for a household earning $100,000: 

• Cleveland, where total monthly expenses would leave a net monthly income of $1,393 
• Louisville, Kentucky: Net monthly income, $1,281 
• Memphis, Tennessee: Net monthly income, $1,272 
• New Orleans: Net monthly income, $1,216 
• Cincinnati: Net monthly income, $1,207 
• Milwaukee: Net monthly income, $1,028 
• Pittsburgh: Net monthly income, $1,025 
• Indianapolis: Net monthly income, $922 
• Detroit: Net monthly income, $885 
• Houston: Net monthly income, $883 
• Las Vegas: net monthly income, $835 
• Nashville, Tennessee: Net monthly income, $751 

The LendingTree analysis didn’t consider debt payments: student loans, credit cards and the like.  

“If we had done that,” the report says, “the number of metros in which six-figure earners are still broke would be far larger.”