See How San Mateo County Ranks In Purchasing Power

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — As inflation soars to levels not seen in four decades and gas prices climb to near $6 a gallon, many Californians are feeling squeezed. But even as the cost of living in the famously expensive state soars, there are many locations where, at least as of now, median income outpaces the cost of living enough for residents to get by.

Financial technology company SmartAsset has released a map and list of the 2022 Purchasing Power of each of California’s counties by measuring the cost of living relative to income.

Counterintuitive as it may seem, San Mateo County and much of the Bay Area do well. Costs are high, but salaries are even higher. San Mateo County, with an annual cost of living of $81,342 and a median annual income of $141,841, ranked third in the state, just behind Marin and San Francisco counties.

The site calculated the baseline cost of living in each county for one adult with no dependents, along with the expenditures typical to someone making the county’s median income. It then combined the two figures using a weighted average based on how close each county’s median income is to the minimum livable income in the area, and then subtracted income taxes.

Each county’s purchasing power was calculated by determining the weighted cost of living as a percentage of median income. Below are the top ten counties. The county - and metropolitan area - with the most purchasing power in the state is at once surprising…and in many ways completely unsurprising.

Los Angeles, or anywhere in Southern California, did not make the top ten. L.A. County placed 12th in the state for purchasing power, with a cost of living of $47,536, and a median income of $68,272.

Orange County placed lower, with a higher cost of living and a higher median income than LA: $58,183 cost of living and a $74,618 median income. San Diego County was comparable to LA, with a $49,818 cost of living, and a $66,266 median income.

Kings County, just east of Monterey and home to the agricultural San Joaquin Valley, placed last, with a $38,978 cost of living and a $41,829 median income.

Residents of the southeastern part of the state are also among the most squeezed: San Bernardino County ranked 55th in the state, with a $40,064 cost of living and a $44,831 median income. Just above was Riverside County at 54th in the state, with a $40,298 cost of living and a $45,834 salary.

See how your county did by looking at the map at the bottom of this page, and compare it to counties across the state and country.