According to Forbes, here are the top ten overpriced cities in the United States. The ranking takes cost of living, job growth, income growth, and housing prices into account. Here’s the list:
1. Seattle, Washington
2. New York, New York
3. Portland, Oregon
4. Chicago, Illinois
5. San Jose, California
6. Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey
7. San Francisco, California
8. Middlesex County, New Jersey (this is where I live)
9. Denver, Colorado
10. Los Angeles, California
Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published July 21, 2005. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 5 comments }
Wow, I now have the dubious honor of living in THE most overpriced city!
No wonder everything is so expensive around here…..
On the plus side though, it makes moving to a cheaper area after I retire, much easier…..
Hazzard
http://elym.blogspot.com
That’s why we have to come here and find ways to save money.
Living in Manhattan, I can’t imagine there being a city more expensive. I really feel for people living in Seattle. Bad weather and the highest cost of living in the country: what’s the draw?
Jeff
http://www.roadtorich.com
Note that the Forbes list is not the “most expensive” but the “most overpriced.” That is, I’m sure Manhattan is more expensive than Seattle in absolute terms. But if you’re living in Manhattan it’s because you can afford it, so your housing-to-salary ratio is probably less steep than in Seattle.
Contrary to popular belief, hte weather in Seattle is great. It rarely gets too cold or too hot. Sure, it rains a lot, but that’s because it rarely gets below freezing. Last year I had to brush (not scrape) snow off my car exactly once. If you count snow, NYC actually gets about seven more inches of precipitation on average than Seattle. But, as they say out here, you don’t have to shovel rain.
Plus, you’ll only want air conditioning about a week a year — many of the homes here don’t even have a/c. It’s late July and 71 degrees… ahhh.