Why use median instead of average income?

The median is the midpoint, so it isn't distorted by a small number of extremely high earners the way an average can be. That makes it a truer picture of what a typical household in the metro brings in; our methodology page has the details.

Do high incomes mean I'll be better off there?

Not necessarily, because high-income metros tend to be expensive, which eats into that advantage. To see whether the pay actually outpaces the costs, check the best-value ranking or run a specific salary through our calculator.

Is this individual or household income?

It's median household income, which combines the earnings of everyone in a home, so dual-income households push it higher. If you're single, your own situation may look different from the household figure shown here.

Highest household incomes

Metros with the highest median household income.

Top 50 of 300 metros, ranked by our published formula.

Median household income is the clearest single read on what local families actually earn, and it shapes everything from the housing market to the kinds of jobs concentrated in a metro. This ranking sorts cities purely by that figure, which is useful if you're job-hunting in person, gauging the earning ceiling of an area, or sizing up the overall economic weight of a place. Because it uses the median rather than an average, it isn't skewed by a handful of very high earners and better reflects a typical household.

Read the leaders as high-earning metros, but remember that high incomes and high costs almost always travel together, so a top spot here does not mean money goes further. That's the core caveat: this ranking ignores prices entirely, which is why a city can top the income list yet fall well down our best-value list. If buying power is what you actually care about, start with best-value and use the salary calculator to adjust for local costs.

Common questions

Why use median instead of average income?: The median is the midpoint, so it isn't distorted by a small number of extremely high earners the way an average can be. That makes it a truer picture of what a typical household in the metro brings in; our methodology page has the details.
Do high incomes mean I'll be better off there?: Not necessarily, because high-income metros tend to be expensive, which eats into that advantage. To see whether the pay actually outpaces the costs, check the best-value ranking or run a specific salary through our calculator.
Is this individual or household income?: It's median household income, which combines the earnings of everyone in a home, so dual-income households push it higher. If you're single, your own situation may look different from the household figure shown here.