Your money goes the furthest in these 10 counties in New York, according to a recently released study by SmartAsset. The financial advisor guide analyzed paycheck-friendliness of each U.S. county using four factors: semi-monthly paycheck, purchasing power, or the value of goods and services $1 can buy, unemployment rate and income growth.
Here’s which New York counties topped the list.
Putnam County, located in the Hudson Valley, scored 85.28 on SmartAsset’s paycheck-friendly index and has a purchasing power of 3.07, meaning money stretches farther compared to the state average of 1.59. Additionally, the county has an unemployment rate of 3.4% and an income growth rate of 14.11%.
Suffolk County has a purchasing power of 2.73 and scored 83.18 on the paycheck-friendly index. Additionally, the county, which is located on Long Island, has an unemployment rate of 4% and an income growth rate of 16.14%.
Saratoga County, just north of Albany, has an unemployment rate of 3.4%, an income growth rate of 13.04% and a purchasing power of 2.35. Overall, the county scored 65.73 on the paycheck-friendly index.
Dutchess County scored 63.45 on the paycheck-friendly index and has a purchasing power of 2.32. Additionally, the county, which is home to the cities Poughkeepsie and Beacon, has an unemployment rate of 3.6% and an income growth rate of 11.6%.
Richmond County, more commonly known as Staten Island, has a purchasing power of 2.23 and scored 62.8 on the paycheck-friendly index. Additionally, the county has an unemployment rate of 4.6% and an income growth rate of 14.8%.
See the list: Here’s where your money goes the furthest in NY
Orange County, ranked No. 6 with an overall score of 56.71
Albany County, ranked No. 7 with an overall score of 55.76
Columbia County, ranked No. 8 with an overall score of 52.91
Ulster County, ranked No. 9 with an overall score of 50.82
Rensselaer County, ranked No. 10 with an overall score of 49.82
See the list: These counties are some of the best places to raise a family in NY
The top two counties in New York for paycheck-friendliness rank pretty high on SmartAsset’s national list as well, as Putnam is ranked No. 21 nationwide and Suffolk lands at No. 24.
Here’s SmartAsset’s top 10 paycheck-friendly counties nationwide:
Arlington County, Virginia
Marin County, California
Stafford County, California
Fairfax County, Virginia
Williamson County, Tennessee
Forsyth County, Georgia
Summit County, Utah
Somerset County, New Jersey
Fauquier County, Virginia
Calvert County, Maryland