San Francisco Jumps Up List Of Places To Grow Wealth To Number One
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Sky high property values and big high tech paychecks may be what's frustrating long time San Francisco residents but they're also what's prompting Bankrate to rank the City as number one for places to build wealth.
Last year San Francisco ranked number 13 for cities to build wealth, number 1 then was Houston. But a lot has changed. For one wealth isn't necessarily just a view apartment at the St. Regis.
"When people think wealth, they think Warren Buffet, they think Bill Gates, and mansions and Maseratis, but wealth is a lot more mundane than that in most cases, it's just what you own minus what you owe," Bankrate's Closs Bell said.
Ok maybe not so much that last part since San Francisco's home-ownership rate was one of the lowest in the survey at 53-percent, but there are a lot of hefty executive paychecks floating around which Bell says means there's a lot left over once you pay the bills and that's also a measure of wealth, not just real estate equity. If having a home is important to you, other top cities like Minneapolis, Washington DC or St Louis might be more appealing.
"Does it have a low unemployment rate, you know are people earning substantial salaries there? Are people able to buy a home in this area?" Bell said.
