Lower-rent cities have bigger spenders

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Bill Radke: Where are the biggest spenders in America? Not New York. A new report show that the biggest consumers are in the city of Austin, Texas. New York City doesn’t even make it to the top 10. Marketplace’s Jennifer Collins reports.

Jennifer Collins: The ladies from Sex and the City may be known for hitting up Manhattan’s expensive shoe shops:

CARRIE BRADSHAW: Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes. I thought these were an urban shoe myth.

But maybe New York’s fashionistas actually have to save their money for rent. New York only ranks 53 on a list of the country’s biggest spenders.

Personal finance site Bundle.com tallied expenditures excluding housing. The site’s managing editor, Janet Paskin, says the cities with most avid consumers seem to be ones with relatively reasonable rent and mortgage.

Janet Paskin: And if you’re not spending that money on housing, you’re spending it on other things like food and drink, travel, shopping.

The top two on the list are Austin, Texas and Scottsdale, Ariz. Both cities boast household consumption over $60,000 a year. The report says the average American household spends about $37,000.

I’m Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.