If you’re a Democrat living in a blue state, chances are your city leans liberal in both politics and values. These urban areas attract left-leaning residents for a range of reasons: higher-paying jobs, a college-educated workforce, climate protections, LGBTQ+ inclusion and reproductive rights for women.
However, many of these metropolitan areas come with a steep price tag. Elevated rents, mortgages that take up a large share of income and a wide range of taxes — including property, pensions in some states, sales, income and a city wage tax you may not know — is being deducted from your paycheck if you haven’t examined it closely.
