Your money goes farther here than you'd expect—if you're willing to be a little creative
New Research: The U.S. City Where You’ll Get More Bang for Your Buck
Published on Apr. 23, 2025
When choosing where to live—or to move to—you have many factors to consider. Do you focus on quality of life and work-life balance, choosing a place that will make you happy? Do you select a city that’s close to family and friends? Or do you try to get the most for your money?
If your focus is on the latter, you’re in luck. There is one city in the United States that’s having a viral moment for its unique location and tax circumstances, both of which make it a place where your money can go unexpectedly far.
Reader’s Digest talked to financial planning expert Ron Caruthers, the founder of Caruthers Tax, College and Financial Solutions who also doles out money and tax advice to his 93,000-plus followers on Instagram. Which U.S. city does Caruthers say will stretch your dollar the farthest? Keep reading to find out.
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Which city gives you more for your money?
According to Caruthers’s now-viral Instagram post, it’s Vancouver, Washington.
Caruthers says if you’re looking to spend less and save more, Vancouver, a mid-sized city in the southwest part of the state, is the best place to live, hands down. “The best place to live in the U.S. from a financial standpoint (if you can take the weather) is: Vancouver, WA, which is across the river from Portland [Oregon],” he says in the post. “Washington has no state income tax, and Oregon has no sales tax, so you shop there.”
As he says in the post’s caption, the calculation is simple: “You keep more of what you earn and spend.”
What makes Vancouver, Washington, financially attractive?
As Caruthers mentions on Instagram, the income tax advantages of living in Vancouver are substantial. In our interview, he breaks it down further, using the example of a person moving from New York City to Vancouver. “A single person making $100,000 a year would save $8,393 in state and local taxes each year, and a married couple making $150,000 a year would save $12,002,” Caruthers explains. “If the single person invested that money at 7%, they would have $340,796 after 20 years. If the married couple did the same, they would have $492,028.” (Wow!)
The sales tax factor can be a bit trickier, Caruthers says. Let’s say you live in Vancouver and pop across the river to shop in Portland. Technically, many businesses in Oregon have what’s called a “tax nexus” with Washington, so the sales tax is supposed to be calculated and paid on anything that is purchased across state lines.
“However, the reality is that most people don’t pay it on their weekly purchases, like food and groceries,” Caruthers says. “If families in Washington, which has almost 7% sales tax, purchased $400 a week in groceries and other items in Oregon, they would save $1,496 a year.”
While groceries and smaller goods appear to be safe from tax scrutiny, buying big-ticket items like appliances, cars and boats over state lines to avoid sales tax is definitely not. So if you live in Washington and buy a car in Oregon, know that you still owe sales tax (also called a use tax) on your new vehicle. Not paying it will lead to trouble if you’re caught.
What are other benefits to living in Vancouver, Washington?
Vancouver has far more than financial benefits—in fact, it was voted one of the best places to live by both Travel + Leisure and Livability in 2024. With a population of roughly 200,000, Vancouver has the charm of a smaller city, yet it also boasts a vibrant culture scene and plenty of delicious places to eat. It’s also situated close to bigger cities like Portland and Seattle.
The natural scenery of Vancouver is another selling point, and there are plenty of opportunities for being outside and active. Apartments.com included the city among its Top Ten Best Cities for Camping in 2020, and Redfin named it the fourth Most Bikeable City in Washington in 2024. If you’re into the outdoors, you can’t go wrong with Vancouver.
What are the cons to living in Vancouver, Washington?
Even though you can save money by not paying income tax, Vancouver is considered slightly higher than the national average in terms of affordability for buying and renting homes, making the cost of living higher than many other places in the United States.
“The average median home costs about $489,000, and the median rent runs about $1,488,” Caruthers says. “But that is also significantly less than many of the major cities, and about 10% less than Seattle.” (Plus, you’ll be investing all those tax savings, right?)
The weather can also be an issue for many people, especially if you’re coming from sunny Florida or California. “Vancouver, Washington, averages 143 sunny days a year vs. San Francisco, which has 260 sunny and partly sunny days a year,” Caruthers says. “New York has 234 sunny or partly sunny days a year.”
In the end, Vancouver, Washington, can be an incredible place to live, even beyond the tax savings. As long as you’re OK with a lot of rainy days, this bustling city with a small-town feel is ideal for outdoorsy types looking to set down roots.
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Sources:
- Ron Caruthers, founder of Caruthers Tax, College, and Financial Solutions;Â interviewed, April 2025
- Apartments.com: “The Best Cities for Camping”
- City of Vancouver, Washington: “Awards and Recognition”
- Livability: “Living in Vancouver, WA”
- Redfin: “The 10 Most Bikeable Cities in Washington”
- Sales Tax Institute: “Economic Nexus State by State Chart”
- Travel + Leisure: “9 Best Places to Live in the Western U.S., According to Real Estate Experts”
- Washington State Department of Revenue: “Use Tax”
