Best Cities for Saving Money in America — 2026 Study

Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFF
Key finding

St. Louis leads for active savers — its combination of wages and housing costs supports the strongest savings momentum among tracked cities.

Full ranking — all 37 cities

1 St. Louis · MO
strong momentum
2 Pittsburgh · PA
gaining traction
3 Detroit · MI
gaining traction
4 San Antonio · TX
gaining traction
5 Albuquerque · NM
gaining traction
6 Columbus · OH
gaining traction
7 Kansas City · MO
gaining traction
8 Indianapolis · IN
gaining traction
9 Houston · TX
gaining traction
10 Jacksonville · FL
gaining traction
11 Minneapolis · MN
gaining traction
12 Salt Lake City · UT
gaining traction
13 Las Vegas · NV
gaining traction
14 Baltimore · MD
gaining traction
15 Philadelphia · PA
gaining traction
16 Charlotte · NC
gaining traction
17 Austin · TX
gaining traction
18 Nashville · TN
gaining traction
19 Chicago · IL
gaining traction
20 Phoenix · AZ
gaining traction
21 Raleigh · NC
gaining traction
22 Dallas · TX
gaining traction
23 Atlanta · GA
gaining traction
24 Portland · OR
gaining traction
25 Tampa · FL
gaining traction
26 Orlando · FL
gaining traction
27 Denver · CO
gaining traction
28 Sacramento · CA
gaining traction
29 Miami · FL
gaining traction
30 Washington, DC · DC
gaining traction
31 Los Angeles · CA
gaining traction
32 Seattle · WA
gaining traction
33 San Diego · CA
gaining traction
34 Boston · MA
gaining traction
35 New York City · NY
gaining traction
36 San Francisco · CA
finding rhythm
37 San Jose · CA
finding rhythm

Methodology

Cities were ranked by the savings-pace signal for an active saver aged 28-34, with ties broken by lower median 1BR rent. Signals are derived from local income and cost structures.

Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, HUD FY2026 FMR.

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