In order to qualify for this Wyse Award, a resident on a typical city salary has to be able to purchase at least 20% more in housing, restaurants, groceries & general goods, averaged, than if she or he had the same job in New York. (>120% Comparative Purchasing Power, or "CPP"). This means someone working as a firefighter in DC is able to stretch her paycheck 20% further than a NYC firefighter can, regardless of how much they both get paid, on average.

NYC itself isn't officially a contender for these awards, but if we're going to use it as our benchmark then we have to at least mention this quintessential coastal metropolis, and if the Manhattan skyline isn't worth paying an extra 20% of your paycheck for, then I don't know what is.