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Friday, May 30, 2008
The 50 Best Places to Make A Lot, but Spend A Little
FOXBusiness
Here are the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States according to Sperling’s Best Places, ranked in order of the best places to earn a high salary while maintaining a fairly low cost of living.
| City | State | Population |
| Denver-Aurora | CO | 2408750 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro | TN | 1455097 |
| San Antonio | TX | 1942217 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | TX | 6003967 |
| Salt Lake City | UT | 1067722 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown | TX | 5539949 |
| Austin-Round Rock | TX | 1513565 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | AZ | 4039182 |
| Indianapolis | IN | 1666032 |
| Birmingham-Hoover | AL | 1100019 |
| Oklahoma City | OK | 1172339 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News | VA-NC | 1649457 |
| Pittsburgh | PA | 2370776 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta | GA | 5138223 |
| Raleigh-Cary | NC | 994551 |
| Richmond | VA | 1194008 |
| Memphis | TN-MS-AR | 1274704 |
| Rochester | NY | 1035435 |
| Jacksonville | FL | 1277997 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls | NY | 1137520 |
| Columbus | OH | 1725570 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford | CT | 1188841 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee | FL | 1984855 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | MN-WI | 3175041 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy | MA-NH | 4455217 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord | NC-SC | 1583016 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | PA-NJ-DE-MD | 5826742 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | WA | 3263497 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | DC-VA-MD-WV | 5290400 |
| Kansas City | MO-KS | 1967405 |
| Cincinnati-Middletown | OH-KY-IN | 2104218 |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor | OH | 2114155 |
| Louisville | KY-IN | 1222216 |
| Las Vegas-Paradise | NV | 1777539 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach | FL | 5463857 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | FL | 2697731 |
| St. Louis | MO-IL | 2796368 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton | OR-WA | 2137565 |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia | MI | 4468966 |
| Providence-New Bedford-Fall River | RI-MA | 1612989 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis | WI | 1509981 |
| Baltimore-Towson | MD | 2658405 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner | LA | 1024678 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana | CA | 12950129 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | CA | 4026135 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet | IL-IN-WI | 9505748 |
| New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island | NY-NJ-PA | 18818536 |
| San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland | CA | 5967150 |
| Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville | CA | 2067117 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos | CA | 2941454 |
List and rankings courtesy of Sperling’s Best Places. Rankings based upon a number of statistical factors, including median household income, unemployment and job growth information, as well as cost of living and home price statistics.
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Some mutual funds want you to pay for the privilege of them (or your investment adviser) taking your money to invest. It's called a load, and it works like a cover charge to get into a nightclub. Luckily, there are such things as no-load funds. As the name implies, shares of these funds are sold without a fee paid to a broker or investment advisor.
The entire amount you invest in no-load funds goes to work for your returns. On the other hand, with load funds, right off the bat you're charged commission (not to mention other fees incurred over the life of the investment). Let's say, for example, you invest $25,000 into a load fund that charges a 5% commission. This costs you $1,250 off the top, bringing your actual investment down to only $23,750.
The often-cited horse race analogy argues against investing in load funds. Here's the logic behind it: Would you place a bet on a horse that had to start a race 200 yards behind the others? Well, maybe you would if you got a tip from a sketchy, trench coat-clad man in a dark alley. However, under most circumstances, it's not smart to put your money on that handicapped horse.
But some argue that at times that man in the trench coat (aka your broker) knows more about the horses than you do, and has a better shot at picking a winner. Also, sometimes these fees are unavoidable because some funds are available only through investment advisers.
Cost-benefit analysis can help determine when a load fund is worth it (in other words, when it will score you a load) and when it is better to "do it yourself" and avoid the fees. Load-fund fees range depending on share class and can cover a variety of costs, such as paper work and fund management.






