Some markets to consider for out of state investors

[Gene D.]

Here's an interesting article I came across on yahoo finance, surprising not to see Philadelphia on the list, but the rest make sense.  

There are scores of reasons to choose a city, and even more reasons a city can choose you. Unique combinations of family, employment, dreams, lifestyle, weather, and matters of the heart—just to name a few—often dictate where you live, and they’re often tied to emotions.

But what if you could keep your decision-making in the strictly rational realms? This is the crux of a new report by Glassdoor that looks at the top 25 cities in the United States where your paycheck would go furthest.

Taking the US Office of Management and Budget’s list of 50 largest cities (or metropolitan areas in some cases), Glassdoor compared its median base salary information to its median home price, since real estate is a convenient proxy for cost of living as a person’s biggest expenditure.

Not surprisingly, the list is one of the few things not dominated by large coastal cities. Detroit; Memphis; Pittsburgh; Cleveland; and Indianapolis, rounded out the top five. Conspicuously off the list were New York, Boston, and San Francisco, which boasted an 11% cost of living ratio of median base salary to home value. Detroit, on the other hand, has a ratio of 50%, meaning a year’s median base salary comes to half the median value of a home.

1. Detroit, MI

• Cost of Living Ratio: 50%
• Median Base Salary: $61,500
• Median Home Value: $123,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 54,808

2. Memphis, TN

• Cost of Living Ratio: 46%
• Median Base Salary: $52,000
• Median Home Value: $112,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 17,982

3. Pittsburgh, PA

• Cost of Living Ratio: 45%
• Median Base Salary: $56,896
• Median Home Value: $126,700
• Number of Open Jobs: 46,379

4. Cleveland, OH

• Cost of Living Ratio: 44%
• Median Base Salary: $55,000
• Median Home Value: $125,500
• Number of Open Jobs: 29,304

5. Indianapolis, IN

• Cost of Living Ratio: 43%
• Median Base Salary: $56,000
• Median Home Value: $130,200
• Number of Open Jobs: 33,090

6. St. Louis, MO

• Cost of Living Ratio: 40%
• Median Base Salary: $56,896
• Median Home Value: $141,900
• Number of Open Jobs: 35,300

7. Cincinnati, OH

• Cost of Living Ratio: 40%
• Median Base Salary: $57,179
• Median Home Value: $143,400
• Number of Open Jobs: 32,605

8. Birmingham, AL

• Cost of Living Ratio: 40%
• Median Base Salary: $50,800
• Median Home Value: $128,000
• Number of Open Jobs: 15,299

9. Kansas City, MO

• Cost of Living Ratio: 39%
• Median Base Salary: $58,000
• Median Home Value: $147,500
• Number of Open Jobs: 35,639

10. Louisville, KY

• Cost of Living Ratio: 39%
• Median Base Salary: $54,000
• Median Home Value: $137,500
• Number of Open Jobs: 22,693

11. Buffalo, NY

• Cost of Living Ratio: 39%
• Median Base Salary: $50,000
• Median Home Value: $128,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 13,599

12. Houston, TX

• Cost of Living Ratio: 38%
• Median Base Salary: $65,000
• Median Home Value: $172,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 72,033

13. Oklahoma City, OK

• Cost of Living Ratio: 38%
• Median Base Salary: $50,000
• Median Home Value: $132,500
• Number of Open Jobs: 16,388

14. Columbus, OH

• Cost of Living Ratio: 37%
• Median Base Salary: $57,000
• Median Home Value: $154,600
• Number of Open Jobs: 30,728

15. Atlanta, GA

• Cost of Living Ratio: 37%
• Median Base Salary: $60,000
• Median Home Value: $163,000
• Number of Open Jobs: 90,739

16. San Antonio, TX

• Cost of Living Ratio: 37%
• Median Base Salary: $55,000
• Median Home Value: $150,200
• Number of Open Jobs: 28,378

17. Charlotte, NC

• Cost of Living Ratio: 36%
• Median Base Salary: $58,000
• Median Home Value: $159,800
• Number of Open Jobs: 37,180

18. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

• Cost of Living Ratio: 33%
• Median Base Salary: $61,000
• Median Home Value: $182,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 121,241

19. Chicago, IL

• Cost of Living Ratio: 33%
• Median Base Salary: $63,000
• Median Home Value: $193,800
• Number of Open Jobs: 155,173

20. Tampa, FL

• Cost of Living Ratio: 32%
• Median Base Salary: $52,000
• Median Home Value: $163,600
• Number of Open Jobs: 40,830

21. Hartford, CT

• Cost of Living Ratio: 32%
• Median Base Salary: $68,000
• Median Home Value: $215,800
• Number of Open Jobs: 19,025

22. Richmond, VA

• Cost of Living Ratio: 31%
• Median Base Salary: $59,800
• Median Home Value: $191,500
• Number of Open Jobs: 21,454

23. Jacksonville, FL

• Cost of Living Ratio: 30%
• Median Base Salary: $50,000
• Median Home Value: $165,900
• Number of Open Jobs: 18,205

24. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

• Cost of Living Ratio: 30%
• Median Base Salary: $65,000
• Median Home Value: $219,400
• Number of Open Jobs: 64,026

25. Raleigh-Durham, NC

• Cost of Living Ratio: 30%
• Median Base Salary: $62,000
• Median Home Value: $209,400
• Number of Open Jobs: 22,339

And for fun, here are some cities that did not make the cut.

New York, NY

• Cost of Living Ratio: 18%
• Median Base Salary: $70,000
• Median Home Value: $384,100
• Number of Open Jobs: 250,795

Boston, MA

• Cost of Living Ratio: 17%
• Median Base Salary: $67,500
• Median Home Value: $387,400
• Number of Open Jobs: 109,395

San Francisco, CA

• Cost of Living Ratio: 11%
• Median Base Salary: $88,000
• Median Home Value: $806,600
• Number of Open Jobs: 103,513

[Jonathan Makovsky]

@Gene D. thank you very much for posting! 

I love reading these kind-of articles, but sometimes I find the articles are more click-bait than substance. I am not suggesting this one is, but one thing in particular caught my attention which is #21 on the list, Hartford (Connecticut). 

There's a saying: "Statistics are like bikinis: What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital."

Yes, home prices in Hartford are quite reasonable with the author quoting a "Median Home Value of $215K", but what it leaves out is the exuberantly high taxes that one would need to pay to live there. In a vacuum, the price of a home in Hartford is great - but the taxes are a killer (74.29 mill rate). 

As an example, a home in Hartford that is appraised at $215,000 will pay have the same amount in taxes as a home valued in Greenwich, Conn. for $1.43M (which is one of the richest towns in America: http://time.com/10537/richest-neighborhoods-in-ame...). This is also another reason that the 2% Rule and 50% OpEx Rule can be silly in many locales.

On one more note, I am curious as to how the author of the article got the Cost of Living in Hartford at 32%. Did they include the C-level executives' compensation and bonus at the insurance companies that are based in Hartford? 

My point is not saying that Greenwich is affordable (it's not for many), nor am I saying that one should move where the property taxes are low (since I would love if people started moving to the Greater Hartford area!). My only point is that sometimes these articles can skew the stats to be whatever they want.

Happy investing!! :)