Miami residents average a debt burden of less than $26,000, helping make it one of the best cities in the country for building wealth, an analysis from Bankrate found.
In its analysis, Bankrate weighed a variety of local indicators, including: average income and expenditures; the unemployment rate; educational opportunities; access to retirement plans; homeownership rates and price appreciation; and the prevalence of non-mortgage debt, among other factors.
Bankrate named Miami the No. 20 best city in which to build wealth. The city’s average debt burden is $25,644, and while savable income is actually in the negative, the report clarifies that Miami’s unusual finding could be the result of its high population of retirees, who may be spending their retirement savings and therefore skewing the results.
| Rank | City | Savable Income | Homeownership Rate | Debt Burden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | $16,657 | 53% | $25,941 |
| 2 | Minneapolis | $6,557 | 68.60% | $26,877 |
| 3 | Washington, D.C. | $15,246 | 64.20% | $28,914 |
| 4 | St. Louis | $10,451 | 66.20% | $27,486 |
| 5 | Detroit | $12,513 | 71% | $23,610 |
| 6 | Seattle | $10,381 | 55.40% | $27,691 |
| 7 | Boston | $5,115 | 55.10% | $26,318 |
| 8 | Denver | $13,099 | 61.10% | $28,007 |
| 9 | Phoenix | $14,828 | 63.20% | $27,811 |
| 10 | Baltimore | $9,303 | 66.90% | $27,917 |
| 11 | Philadelphia | $9,714 | 65.20% | $26,822 |
| 12 | Chicago | $11,966 | 62.70% | $27,594 |
| 13 | New York | $11,981 | 49.50% | $25,687 |
| 14 | Dallas | $9,177 | 59.10% | $29,204 |
| 15 | San Diego | $2,692 | 52.10% | $26,266 |
| 16 | Los Angeles | $7,246 | 46.50% | $25,147 |
| 17 | Houston | $6,117 | 59.10% | $29,571 |
| 18 | Atlanta | $2,503 | 62.10% | $28,259 |
| 19 | Tampa, FL | $3,437 | 62.70% | $27,015 |
| 20 | Miami | -$3,613 | 58% | $25,645 |
| 21 | San Bernardino, CA | $9,790 | 62.6%% | $27,682 |