As real estate developers decide which markets are suitable for their investments they have a wealth of demographic data to help them make a decision. One that may be missing from their arsenal, however, is how rich or well off consumers feel. 

SmartAsset, a provider of consumer-focused financial information, took a stab at this with an analysis that measured how far the much-ballyhooed "six-figure salary" of $100,000 — typically cited as a marker of financial success — really goes.

Those with a $100,000 salary earn more than double the median individual income for 2021, but when accounting for taxes and cost of living in America's largest cities, this salary may not equate to being, or at least feeling, that well off, SmartAsset found. To have the purchasing power of $100,000, residents of many cities will have to earn a substantially higher salary.