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These Are the U.S. Cities Where High-Earners Have the Most (And Least) Purchasing Power Unsurprisingly, New York, Honolulu, and San Francisco are the three cities where high-earners lose most of their salary to taxes and living expenses. Here's where you can take home the most.

By Madeline Garfinkle

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Sean Pavone | Shutterstock
NYC is the No.1 city where a $250,000 salary is worth the least after taxes and living expenses.

A six-figure salary may seem like a lot, but depending on where you live, your take-home pay might only be a quarter of your earnings after accounting for taxes and the cost of living.

A new report by financial technology company SmartAsset found that the purchasing power of a $250,000 salary drastically varied based on location.

The city where a $250,000 salary was worth the least was New York—those six digits dwindled down to a mere $82,421 after factoring in taxes and the cost of living—followed by Honolulu ($82,672) and San Francisco ($82,776).

Related: While Rent Prices Dropped Around the Country, Manhattan Hit a New Record High

The cities where high-earners take home the most of their $250,000 salaries are Memphis, TN which came in at No. 1 with $203,664, followed by El Paso, TX ($200,180), and Oklahoma City, OK ($197,381).

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to determine the take-home pay of 76 of America's largest cities and then adjusted the take-home amount to factor in the average cost of living for each of the locations. The three cities (New York, Honolulu, and San Francisco) where high-earners lose most of their salary to taxes and other expenses were also the only cities in the report where workers' six-figure salary was reduced to five digits after taxes and costs.

Here are the U.S. cities where the value of a $250,000 salary is worth the most and least.

Where $250,000 goes the furthest:

1. Memphis, TN: $203,664

2. El Paso, TX: $200,180

3. Oklahoma City, OK: $197,381

4. Corpus Christi, TX: $196,594

5. Lubbock, TX: $196,374

Where $250,000 is worth the least:

1. New York, NY: $82,421

2. Honolulu, HI: $82,672

3. San Francisco, CA: $82,776

4. Long Beach, CA and Los Angeles, CA (tie): $101,635

5. Washington, DC: $101,865

Madeline Garfinkle

News Writer

Madeline Garfinkle is a News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate from Syracuse University, and received an MFA from Columbia University. 

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