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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.
