The Nation's Biggest Spenders Are In Silicon Valley
Personal finance app Mint conducted an analysis of how people in different US cities spent their money in 2014.
They then determined which cities spent the most this year by finding the average transaction size recorded by Mint's 16+ million users.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, California cities dominated the list, with the top three spaces occupied by cities in Silicon Valley.
Palo Alto, home to Stanford University and wealthy tech executives like Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg, took the top spot in Mint's ranking. Palo Alto residents spent an average of $345.09 on each transaction.
Mountain View, the Silicon Valley city where Google is headquartered, took second place in spending, with an average transaction size of $314.50.
Here's the complete list of the nation's top spenders, according to Mint.
1. Palo Alto, CA - average transaction of $345.09
2. Mountain View, CA - average transaction of $314.50
3. Sunnyvale, CA - average transaction of $278.30
4. Fremont, CA - average transaction of $266.46
5. New York, NY - average transaction of $239.85
6. Bellevue, WA - average transaction of $239.07
7. San Francisco, CA - average transaction of $235.90
8. Irvine, CA - average transaction of $223.45
9. Scottsdale, AZ - average transaction of $221.35
10. San Jose, CA - average transaction of $216.86
Mint's analysts also broke down the data into three major categories - gasoline and car expenses, healthcare, and home - to see where city residents were spending their money.
Though New Yorkers can make use of one of the best public transportation systems in the country, they also spend the most on car expenses, most likely because of expensive parking. People in New York City also spent the most on their homes, though the Bay Area came in second in that category.
Gasoline & Car Expenses
1. New York, NY - average transaction of $81.57
2. San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, CA - average transaction of $75.80
3. Houston, TX - average transaction of $72.43
Healthcare
1. San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, CA - average transaction of $67.53
2. Dallas - Ft. Worth, TX - average transaction of $64.97
3. Los Angeles, CA - average transaction of $64.11
Home
1. New York, NY - average transaction of $516.65
2. San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, CA - average transaction of $507.12
3. Washington, DC - average transaction of $472.14