12 of top 25 highest-cost U.S. cities are in California
VALLEJO -- It's no surprise that cities in California would top the latest list by U.S. News and World Report of the most expensive places to live in the country.
When you think of expensive cities, places like San Francisco and Los Angeles come to mind. They are on the list but so are Vallejo and Fairfield. Those two areas combined came in 10th -- ahead of New York City.
Noelle Waring and Aleksie Von Disterlo live in Vallejo. At first, they were surprised to hear their area costs more to live in than New York but feel it makes sense.
"Having San Francisco as expensive as it is, people get pushed out to these other regions. Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Concord and people living there get pushed out farther," Von Disterlo said.
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The ranking by U.S. News and World Report took into account the median gross rent and annual housing costs among other factors to determine which areas require the most wealth in order to live there comfortably.
With housing costs through the roof, most have trouble making ends meet.
"It's so expensive. I work and live in the bay and even working full-time -- I'm an Amazon driver -- that's not enough money to pay the bills," Von Disterlo said.
Waring and Von Disterlo are always looking for ways to advance and find better-paying jobs.
"It's constantly trying to scale up. That's the only way to really survive out here. To constantly be looking for ways to increase your skill set," Waring said.
San Diego came in at number one followed by Los Angeles. San Francisco ranked 6 and Santa Rosa 8 on the list.
At this rate, Waring and Von Disterlo say they may end up being priced out of California entirely.
"We're looking at Montana maybe. It's cheap, it's beautiful. I was even thinking Oregon too."
Of the 25 cities on the list, 12 of them were in California. San Jose ranked 14.
Here are the cities in the U.S. News and World Report listed from most to less expensive:
1) San Diego
2) Los Angeles
3) Honolulu
4) Miami
5) Santa Barbara
6) San Francisco
7) Salinas
8) Santa Rosa
9) San Juan (Puerto Rico)
10) Vallejo/Fairfield
11) New York
12) Boston
13) Seattle
14) San Jose
15) Sacramento
16) Denver
17) Stockton
18) Washington D.C.
19) Modesto
20) Fresno
21) Portland, Ore.
22) New Haven, Conn.
23) Boulder, Colo.
24) Trenton, N.J.
25) Eugene, Ore.