7 California metros among US cities where incomes increased the most in the last year

Residents in some of California’s biggest cities are taking home bigger paychecks than almost anyone else in the country.A new analysis from SmartAsset examined nearly 100 US cities with populations of at least 250,000 and found residents of Anaheim, Irvine, Long Beach and Santa Ana have seen some of the biggest gains in take-home pay nationwide.The report found incomes in those cities have climbed fast enough to help cushion the blow of soaring prices for everyday necessities.“In many U.S.cities, median household income has outpaced inflation by a wide margin, offsetting the impact of rising costs,” the report noted.The results of the report show where personal finances “gained the most ground against rising prices and where income growth failed to keep up.”The dataset looked at median household incomes over the most recent two year period, along with the share of households earning $200,000 per year or more in 94 communities.Enterprise Nevada ended up landing the #1 spot on the list, with median household incomes there increasing an estimated 18% after inflation, rising from $93,905 to $111,128. In second place was Anaheim, where incomes rose nearly 16%, to $101,145 from $87,365. Three other cities in Southern California landed in the top 20 list with Irvine in 7th place, where take-home pay increased to $145,73 from $131,749, a year-over-year best of 10.6%. Long Beach ended up in 10th, where median household income increased nearly 9%, going from $84,004 to $91,318.

Followed by Santa Ana in the 14th spot where incomes jumped to $95,118 from $88,438, an 8% increase.Three other cities in Northern California rounded out the top 20 list, with San Francisco at #16, with locals going from earning $130,453 to $139,801, a change of around 7%Right behind the city by the Bay, in the 17th spot was Fresno in the Central Valley, where the median household income rose to $74,491 from $69,589, an increase of 7%And just barely making it into the top 20 places was S...