Report from Lattice Publishing:
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a surge in geographic mobility. According to Pew Research Center, 22 percent of adults in the U.S. have relocated during the pandemic or know someone who did. Interestingly, this reverses a longstanding trend in which Americans were staying put.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that prior to COVID-19, Americans were moving a lot less. In 1981, 3.4 percent of Americans moved to a different county within the same state while only 2.8 percent moved to a different state entirely. By 2019, those percentages dropped to 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. The share of Americans moving across county lines has remained at a relatively flat, low level since 2010.
To find which metropolitan areas offer the greatest purchasing power, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated cost-of-living adjusted earnings using data for full-time workers from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. To improve relevance, metros were grouped into the following categories based on population: small (100,000–349,999), midsize (350,000–999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more).
Similar to the statewide trends, the small and midsize metros offering the highest adjusted earnings are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast. Unlike the state-level trends, the large metros with the best pay are scattered throughout the country, with similar levels of representation in the Northeast, West, and Midwest.
The analysis found that after adjusting for the cost-of-living, the median annual earnings for full-time workers in the Asheville, NC metropolitan area is $44,180. The national median is $50,078. Here is a summary of the data for the Asheville, NC metro area:
- Median earnings for full-time workers (adjusted): $44,180
- Median earnings for full-time workers (unadjusted): $41,264
- Percentage change since 2010 (unadjusted): 16.2%
- Cost of living (compared to national average): -6.6%
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
- Median earnings for full-time workers (adjusted): $50,078
- Median earnings for full-time workers (unadjusted): $50,078
- Percentage change since 2010 (unadjusted): 20.6%
- Cost of living (compared to national average): N/A
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Smartest Dollar’s website: https://smartestdollar.com/research/cities-with-the-highest-cost-of-living-adjusted-salaries-2020
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