Where To Move To Make Good Money? Top 25 US Cities To Stretch Your Salary In 2016

detroit 2016 — A new report says Detroit, Michigan, offers Americans the best way of stretching their cost of living. Getty Images

Whether you’re new to the job market or in the middle of your career, Americans are always looking to strike the right balance between their salaries and cost of living. The perfect scenario involves a solid salary that won’t be completely sucked up by your mortgage or rent, and according to jobs site GlassDoor.com, Detroit is the best city in the country.

The Motor City sits well above the rest of the country in GlassDoor’s list Monday of the Top 25 cities “Where Your Pay Goes Furthest,” followed by Memphis at No. 2, then Pittsburgh at No. 3, Cleveland comes in fourth, while Indianapolis rounds out the top 5.

On top of Detroit, from a regional perspective, the Midwest and South stand out as real areas for potential growth. Several of Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas' cities made the top 25.

The study focused solely on each city’s cost of living ratio, which is a comparison of median annual base salary to median home values. On average, 33 percent of every American’s budget goes toward mortgage payments or rent.

“This report shows that where you live and how much you earn are directly tied to one another,” Glassdoor chief economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain said. “Though there are certainly other financial factors to consider when taking into account total cost of living, this data reinforces that pay typically goes further in mid-sized cities versus big metropolitan areas where there is often tighter competition for housing.”

Thanks to a boom in start-up businesses after years of economic woes, Detroit offers job seekers a cheaper cost of living and an opportunity on the ground floor of perhaps some exciting ventures. According to the Detroit Free Press, last month, a start-up incubator was running out of space to fit all the aspiring entrepreneurs.

Top 25 Cities Where Pay Goes Furthest

1.Detroit, Michigan

2.Memphis, Tennessee

3.Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

4.Cleveland, Ohio

5.Indianapolis, Indiana

6.St. Louis, Missouri

7.Cincinnati, Ohio

8.Birmingham, Alabama

9.Kansas City, Missouri

10.Louisville, Kentucky

11.Buffalo, New York