Community Corner
Having Trouble Saving Money? Los Angeles Is To Blame, Study Finds
If you feel it's a constant struggle to make ends meet, there is a good reason: Los Angeles is terrible for the pocketbook: BREAKING.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles and Anaheim areas are among the worst places to live if you're trying to save money, according to a study released Monday by a personal finances website.
Los Angeles was topped only by San Francisco on the list of the top five most expensive places to live, followed by Oakland, New York City and Anaheim, according to the study released by GOBankingRates.com.
Also making the least affordable cities list were Santa Ana at 13th; San Diego, 12th, and Long Beach, ranked 10th.
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The top five cheapest places to live, according to the study, are Virginia Beach, Virginia; San Antonio; Oklahoma City; Omaha, Nebraska; and Arlington, Texas.
For the third year, GOBankingRates researchers examined seven factors that affect financial well-being in the 60 most populous U.S. cities, including median household income, unemployment rate, median home list price and median rent price.
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They also factored in the average gas price, average monthly cost of groceries and sales tax, with all seven factors weighted equally, according to the website.
At $4,500, San Francisco has the highest median monthly rent of any city included in the study, as well as the highest average gas price ($3.16) and highest medium home listing price ($1,195,000).
Los Angeles has the second-highest median monthly rent ($3,950) and fourth-highest median home listing price ($725,000) of the cities surveyed. What secured its second-place spot was the city's $50,205 median income, which is lower than most of the other cities ranked as the worst places to save money, according to GOBankingRates.
Anaheim home ($570,000) and rent ($2,650) prices, while still lower than Los Angeles, have risen. But median income ($60,752) is higher, which is what helps keep the home of Disneyland from ranking as high as L.A. on the list, the researchers said.
Virginia Beach has the highest median income ($66,634) of the 15 best cities for saving money. Of the cheapest cities to live, Wichita, Kansas, has the lowest median list price ($137,250). Average gas prices are lowest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $2.10 per gallon.
Bakersfield has a 10.9 percent unemployment rate, the highest of any city in the study. Of all the cities examined, Honolulu, Hawaii, has the highest average monthly cost of groceries ($490.53).
City News Service; Image: Ken Teegardin via flickr.com
