A household needs just $29,789 income to afford a home in Cleveland, but it takes $137,130 in San Francisco

[Jon Klaus]

Wide range in the US

Texas is still relatively affordable, with Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio each requiring less than $50K household income to buy a home.

[Christian Carson]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

$2,500/month in Cleveland Ohio. $2,000/month on living expenses and $500/month left for housing cost.
$11,000/month in San Francisco. Net after tax is $7,500/month. $2,000/month on living expenses. $5,500/month left for housing cost, or
$4,000/month on living expenses. $3,500/month for housing costs. That can support a $700k house in the SFBA, and one has a better standard of living with $4,000/month to spend.

Where would one want to live? SF or Cleveland? Did I get it right @Account Closed , @J. Martin and @Jay Hinrichs ? This reminds me of an old saying.... "Everything in life has a price."

Cheers.

You're comparing apples to oranges. A $132k job in SF does not translate equally to a $30k job in Cleveland. The latter sounds more like the salary of a Starbucks barista than a middle management professional, who might make closer to $70k here. When I was offered a position at a Big Four accounting firm, the cost-of-living adjustment between CLE and SF was only about a $10k addition.

Neither will $2000/mo in living expenses in SF buy you nearly as much as in Cleveland.

I love San Francisco and I visit very often, but I wouldn't consider living there without a large budget for totally disposable income. I'd rather invest my money.