Yea! We’re Not No. 1
When it comes to the priciest places, Angelenos may be forgiven if they say, “Thank goodness for New York.” That’s because the Big Apple reliably comes out ahead of Los Angeles for the unwanted distinction of “most expensive” this or that. And that was the result again in a new ranking of the most expensive cities in which to live: New York (actually, Manhattan) is No. 1, and Los Angeles is No. 3. (Boston, somehow, came in No. 2.)
The latest survey, out earlier this month, was done by MyEListing, a commercial real estate website. It assessed the cost of living in the 100 largest cities in the U.S. based on prices for housing, goods and services and transportation. The statistical average was 100, but Los Angeles got a ranking of 209 – meaning it is more than twice as expensive as the average. New York got a 275 ranking.
“Apartments and houses in Los Angeles are some of the most expensive in the country,” the survey results said. “The average home value in Los Angeles is north of $955,000, and the average monthly rent is about $2,200 a month.” That’s for a one-bedroom unit, by the way.
But that seems cheap compared to New York. Said the report: “Average monthly rent in Manhattan surpassed $5,000 in June. The average cost of a home in Manhattan is also astronomical: $1.4 million.
And how did Boston get its unwelcome No. 2 ranking? Because rent is very high there: It costs an average of $3,800, much higher than L.A., even though Boston’s home prices average $800,000, lower than L.A.
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As most everyone knows, STEM jobs are big. For one thing, they pay well: the median annual STEM wage is $95,400, more than double the $40,100 for non-STEM jobs. For another, they are growing: STEM jobs are expected to balloon nearly 11% in the 10 year period ending in 2031, compared to just about 5% for all other occupations.
Those stats are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and cited by WalletHub, a personal finance website that did an analysis of what cities are in the best position to lure jobs in science, technology, engineering and math – which form the acronym “STEM.”
So how did Los Angeles fare? It came out in a respectable 26th place out of 100 cities.
The study assessed cities in several categories. Los Angeles is very strong in a category that includes the number and quality of engineering schools, the ratio of invention patents per capita and the number of tech meet-ups per capita. Together with some other metrics, that category is called “STEM Friendliness” – and Los Angeles came in third in the country.
But Los Angeles was weighed down by other categories. Importantly, it came in 90th in what the study called “Professional Opportunities.” That includes the number of job openings for STEM grads per capita, the share of job postings in tech, the share of the workforce already in STEM jobs and STEM employment growth.
The best metro area for STEM professionals? That honor went to Seattle. Next were Austin, Texas and Boston, in that order.
In case you’re wondering, San Francisco and San Jose came in fifth and sixth, respectively. The worst was Jackson, Mississippi.
The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
