Los Angeles vs New York: 26% vs 33%
New York wins on savings rate by 7 percentage-points. Rent burden: 24% in Los Angeles vs 25% in New York. Median incomes: $120,000 (USD) vs $170,000 (USD).
Los Angeles
- Savings rate
- 26%
- Median income
- $120,000 /yr
- Median rent
- $2,400 /mo
- Rent burden
- 24%
- Total core costs
- $4,400 /mo
- Years to FIRE
- 42 yrs
New York
- Savings rate
- 33%
- Median income
- $170,000 /yr
- Median rent
- $3,500 /mo
- Rent burden
- 25%
- Total core costs
- $6,000 /mo
- Years to FIRE
- 32 yrs
Verdict
- Savings rate: New York (33%) beats Los Angeles (26%) by 7 pp.
- Rent burden: Los Angeles (24%) is more affordable than New York (25%).
- FIRE timeline: New York reaches financial independence in ~32 years, vs ~42 years in Los Angeles.
- 5-year wealth gap: The 7-pp annual savings-rate gap compounds to ~35 percentage-points of gross income over five years — directly attributable to local cost structure.
Los Angeles vs New York — FAQ
Which city has the higher savings rate, Los Angeles or New York?+
New York has the higher savings rate at 33% of gross income, compared to 26% in Los Angeles. That is a 7 percentage-point gap. Over a 5-year horizon, the gap compounds to roughly 35 percentage-points of gross income — meaningful for anyone optimising long-term wealth.
What is the income gap between Los Angeles and New York?+
Median Los Angeles household income (mid-band) is around $120,000/year (USD). In New York it is around $170,000/year (USD). That is a gross gap of $50,000/yr.
Is rent worse in Los Angeles or New York?+
Rent burden is higher in New York: rent eats 25% of gross median income there, vs 24% in Los Angeles. Median monthly rent is $2,400 in Los Angeles and $3,500 in New York. Los Angeles is the better city for renters at the median income level.
Which city is better for early retirement (FIRE), Los Angeles or New York?+
Using a simple 25x-expenses FIRE benchmark, a mid-income earner in New York could reach financial independence in roughly 32 years at the current local savings rate, vs 42 years in Los Angeles. New York is the better FIRE city for mid-income earners based on local savings rate and cost structure.
What about cost-of-living adjusted — does New York still win?+
Yes. Savings rate already factors in the local cost of living, because it is calculated as (income − expenses) ÷ income using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023. New York's 33% rate is the cost-adjusted figure — it already reflects what residents actually save after paying rent and other expenses. The 7 percentage-point lead over Los Angeles is real, not a currency illusion.
Methodology
Savings rates from BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023 for Los Angeles (United States) and BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023 for New York (United States). Median income is the midpoint of the default income band for each city. Rent burden is annualised rent divided by gross median income. Years to FIRE assumes a 25× annual expenses target, saved at the local benchmark rate, with no investment growth — a deliberately conservative proxy for ordering cities, not a forecast.
Comparisons across different currencies should focus on percentages (savings rate, rent burden), not absolute amounts.