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It’s Rough Out There

Nailing the intersection of cities that have a lot to do and are still affordable is a difficult balance. With the biggest cities in the world charging arms and legs for rent, entry-level, minimum wage jobs don’t always cut it (though, somehow, New York made this list).


NetCredit took a look at the cost of living across the country and put together a report detailing which cities are the most forgiving for somebody with an entry-level job. They also took a look at the least forgiving. Curious which cities are the easiest to survive in with a meager paycheck? Here are the 20 best and worst.

ChrisBoswell/istockphoto

Best: Bakersfield, California

Living Wage:$22.67

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:100%

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

2nd Best: Fargo, North Dakota

Living Wage:$18.74

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:93.67%

Davel5957/istockphoto

3rd Best: Toledo, Ohio

Living Wage:$19.50

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:93.07%

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

4th Best: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Living Wage:$19.90

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:86.59%

pawel.gaul/istockphoto

5th Best: Detroit

Living Wage:$21.23

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:84.85%

benedek/istockphoto

6th Best: Spokane, Washington

Living Wage:$21.11

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:83.67%

Gian Lorenzo Ferretti Photography/istockphoto

7th Best: Minneapolis

Living Wage:$23.17

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:83.41%

Davel5957/istockphoto

8th Best: Cheyenne, Wyoming

Living Wage:$20.77

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:80.91%

Kruck20/istockphoto

9th Best: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Living Wage:$20.34

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:78.99%

Sean Pavone/istockphoto

10th Best: Charleston, West Virginia

Living Wage:$18.75

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:78.40%

benedek/istockphoto

11th Best: Buffalo, New York

Living Wage:$21.74

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:78.33%

pabradyphoto/istockphoto

12th Best: Little Rock, Arkansas

Living Wage:$20.39

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:78.26%

Jacob Boomsma/istockphoto

13th Best: Des Moines, Iowa

Living Wage:$22.26

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:77.38%

benkrut/istockphoto

14th Best: Milwaukee

Living Wage:$21.07

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:75.92%

MattGush/istockphoto

15th Best: Stockton, California

Living Wage:$24.92

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:75.56%

f11photo/istockphoto

16th Best: St. Louis

Living Wage:$21.61

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:74.70%

Ultima_Gaina/istockphoto

17th Best: Newark, New Jersey

Living Wage:$28.87

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:74.07%

Sean Pavone/istockphoto

18th Best: Cincinnati

Living Wage:$20.77

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:73.51%

frankpeters/istockphoto

19th Best: New York

Living Wage:$28.87

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:71.39%

Kruck20/istockphoto

20th Best: Greensboro, North Carolina

Living Wage:$20.71

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:71.38%

Art Wager/istockphoto

Worst: Honolulu

Living Wage:$30.02

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:27.69%

peeterv/istockphoto

2nd Worst: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Living Wage:$24.61

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:32.33%

Miami Beach by James Willamor (CC BY-SA)

3rd Worst: Miami

Living Wage:$24.94

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:34.30%

4kodiak/istockphoto

4th Worst: Boise, Idaho

Living Wage:$25.02

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:38.72%

adamkaz/istockphoto

5th Worst: Anaheim, California

Living Wage:$28.88

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:39.13%

LPETTET/istockphoto

6th Worst: North Las Vegas, Nevada

Living Wage:$24.10

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:39.13%

DCorn/istockphoto

7th Worst: Glendale, Arizona

Living Wage:$25.69

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:39.27%

Thomas De Wever / istockphoto

8th Worst: Scottsdale, Arizona

Living Wage:$25.69

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:40.51%

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

9th Worst: Santa Ana, California

Living Wage:$28.88

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:42.00%

istockphoto/GerardoBrucker

10th Worst: San Jose, California

Living Wage:$35.28

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:42.02%

Tim Roberts Photography/shutterstock

11th Best: Mesa, Arizona

Living Wage:$25.69

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:42.99%

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

12th Best: Chandler, Arizona

Living Wage:$25.69

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:43.45%

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

13th Best: Chula Vista, California

Living Wage:$30.71

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:43.47%

halbergman/istockphoto

14th Best: Gilbert, Arizona

Living Wage:$25.69

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:43.48%

Shunyu Fan/istockphoto

15th Best: Portland, Oregon

Living Wage:$27.47

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:43.77%

rodclementphotography/istockphoto

16th Best: Atlanta

Living Wage:$26.28

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:44.87%

Jacob Boomsma/istockphoto

17th Best: Garland, Texas

Living Wage:$23.86

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:45.63%

Kruck20/istockphoto

18th Best: Orlando, Florida

Living Wage:$24.77

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:45.70%

Chris Haver/istockphoto

19th Best: San Diego, California

Living Wage:$30.71

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:46.45%

MattGush/istockphoto

20th Best: Riverside, California

Living Wage:$28.26

Percentage of Entry-Level Jobs Above Local Living Wage:46.83%

lechatnoir/istockphoto

Every State, Ranked by Entry-Level Job Survival

  • Best: Minnesota
  • 2: Missouri
  • 3: Wisconsin
  • 4: Wyoming
  • 5: Ohio
  • 6: South Dakota
  • 7: Indiana
  • 8: Washington
  • 9: New Jersey
  • 10: Michigan
  • 11: North Dakota
  • 12: Delaware
  • 13: Tennessee
  • 14: New York
  • 15: Illinois
  • 16: Kansas
  • 17: North Carolina
  • 18: Georgia
  • 19: Nebraska
  • 20: Colorado
  • 21: Texas
  • 22: Pennsylvania
  • 23: West Virginia
  • 24: Vermont
  • 25: Rhode Island
  • 26: Florida
  • 27: Iowa
  • 28: Alaska
  • 29: California
  • 30: Kentucky
  • 31: South Carolina
  • 32:Massachusetts
  • 33: Arkansas
  • 34: New Hampshire
  • 35: Montana
  • 36: Arizona
  • 37: Virginia
  • 38: Maryland
  • 39: New Mexico
  • 40: Connecticut
  • 41: Oklahoma
  • 42: Oregon
  • 43: Maine
  • 44: Louisiana
  • 45: Alabama
  • 46: Idaho
  • 47: Utah
  • 48: Mississippi
  • 49: Nevada
  • 50: Hawaii