San Antonio ranks highest for people living beyond their means, survey finds

People in San Antonio are living beyond their means, according to a study from LendingTree.

In fact. of 50 largest metro areas, San Antonio ranked in the top spot for people struggling to pay their bills. We were followed by Riverside, California, and Las Vegas.

San Antonio is generally ranked as one of the more affordable cities to live in based on housing prices and the lack of state income tax. 

But according to LendingTree's data, San Antonio residents spend a lot of money on their vehicles compared to people in other cities. In Riverside, the primary factor seems to be low incomes, while in Las Vegas it's unemployment.

The study found that people in some of the most expensive cities in the country, like San Jose and San Francisco are actually the best at keeping to their budgets.

While housing costs are exceptionally high in those cities, salaries are also high. The study suggests that higher education and greater income are the most important factors for living within your means.


About the Author:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.