Mill Creek Linear Park in Bakersfield.

Mill Creek Linear Park in Bakersfield. Photo by Matt Gush/Shutterstock

 – 
Senior Staff Writer

 · 
March 17, 2026

Consumer review site ConsumerAffairs released a new study about the best U.S. cities for a $100K salary, and Bakersfield turned out to be the California city offering the best bang for your buck.

The study calculated the adjusted post-tax value of a $100K salary in the 100 largest U.S. cities, ranking them based on the estimated “take-home pay.” While expensive cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco ranked at the very bottom, Bakersfield ranked at #70 with a $72,136 adjusted post-tax salary on $100K. As such, Bakersfield was the highest-ranking California city on the list.

Here’s a closer look…

What does a $100K salary actually get you around California?

ConsumerAffairs analyzed the adjusted post-tax salary in 100 cities by applying federal income tax, state and local taxes, and payroll taxes, and then applying each city’s regional price parity (RPP) index, which roughly reflects the cost of living.

Here’s the ranking and adjusted post-tax salary for all California cities analyzed. Some of them tied with the same results:

#70: Bakersfield, CA – $72,136

#72: Fresno, CA – $70,887

#81: Stockton, CA – $68,643

#82: Riverside, CA – $68,325

#83: Sacramento, CA – $67,698

#89: Chula Vista, CA – $66,119

#89: San Diego, CA – $66,119

#91: San Jose, CA – $65,299

#93: Los Angeles, CA – $63,829

#93: Long Beach, CA – $63,829

#93: Santa Ana, CA – $63,829

#93: Anaheim, CA – $63,829

#93: Irvine, CA – $63,829

#99: Oakland, CA – $62,371

#99: San Francisco, CA – $62,371

As such, someone making $100K in Bakersfield takes home $8,307 more each year compared to someone on the same salary living in Los Angeles.

In fact, Bakersfield also recently topped a study of the most affordable places to live in Southern California — more on that here.

Which U.S. cities have the best take-home pay?

While Bakersfield’s $72.1K take-home pay on a $100K salary is all well and good, it’s still well below the highest-ranking cities in the ConsumerAffairs study.

The top ten adjusted post-tax salaries shake out as follows, with cities in Texas crowning the list:

#1: Laredo, TX – $89,864

#2: El Paso, TX – $87,473

#3: Lubbock, TX – $86,800

#4: Corpus Christi, TX – $86,419

#5: Memphis, TN – $85,391

#6: San Antonio, TX – $84,206

#7: New Orleans, LA – $83,728

#8: Tulsa, OK – $83,451

#9: Wichita, KS – $83,113

#10: Fort Wayne, IN – $82,619

🌐 Learn more: You can read the full ConsumerAffairs study here.