For many Americans, a new year means a new budget — especially if a move is in your future. And if you’re thinking of heading to a big city in 2014 while keeping your resolution of saving some serious cash, cities like New York (where an apartment can cost you more than a castle) just won’t make the cut.

Lucky for us, Apartment Guide took a second to look at their internal listing data and the Cost of Living Index by The Council for Community and Economic Research to determine the metros with the lowest rent AND lowest cost of living. Sounds like a win-win in our book.

Have something to say? Check out HuffPost Home on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.

**

Do you have a home story idea or tip? Email us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

Loading Slideshow

• 10. San Carlos, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,230,880
  strongMedian household income:/strong $110,929
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 30.3%

  As of 2010, the median income of households in San Carlos was more than double the U.S. median of $51,914. Over 30% of households in San Carlos earned more than $200,000 per year, more than five times the national rate of 5.4%. San Carlos is one of the most expensive housing markets in the San Francisco metropolitan area. Over a twelve month period, ending in October, it had the nation’s highest median home price per square foot at $473 among all homes listed, according to Trulia. In San Francisco, the median age of home inventory was just 45 days as of the third quarter of 2012, according to Realtor.com, lower than in all but seven markets.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/2/”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 9. Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,232,167
  strongMedian household income:/strong $74,489
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 18.7%

  Carmel-by-the-Sea, a small coastal city in California, is well-known for its former mayor, actor Clint Eastwood. Currently, the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the city lists for more than four times the nationwide average listing price of $292,152. With nearly 19% of households earning more than $200,000 in 2010, many families and individuals in the small town can afford expensive properties. One house, despite being not much larger than 2,000 square feet, is currently listed for nearly $4.5 million.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjtaOAEZ”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 8. Kailua, HI

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,238,208
  strongMedian household income:/strong $91,082
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 14.7%

  Kailua is one of just two cities on this list not located in California. The O’ahu Island city is 12 miles northeast of Honolulu, which had a vacancy rate of 2.7% — better than most areas but considerably worse than the other areas on the list. As of October, the median price per square foot for a home in the Honolulu area was $398, more than in any other metro except for San Francisco. According to Trulia, a 0.75 acres plot of land, which includes 128 feet of beachfront, is currently for sale for $16 million in Kailua.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjuaHDKa”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 7. Rye, NY

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,312,250
  strongMedian household income:/strong $146,069
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 53.0%

  The average listing price for a four-bedroom home in Rye is more than $1,300,000, or more-than $1 million above the U.S. average. Employees in the often high-paying finance and insurance industries accounted for a 27.8% of employed population in Rye in 2010, well above the 7% average rate nationwide. As of 2010, 53% of households earned more than $200,000 annually, more than any other expensive city, and nearly 10 times the national rate of 5.4%. Additionally, just 1.3% of households lived below the poverty line versus 13.8% nationwide. Among the properties available for sale are a five-bedroom, 7,446 square feet waterfront home for $12.9 million and a 34.2 acre plot of land for $19 million.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjuuAXHV”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 6. Los Gatos, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,444,214
  strongMedian household income:/strong $120,971
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 37.5%

  Los Gatos is one of several cities near San Jose on this list. Like these cities, Los Gatos likely benefits from the overall boom in the San Jose real estate market, which currently has the lowest vacancy rate of all metro areas surveyed by Trulia at just 1%. Currently, a number of unique properties are available in the city, including an 11,000 square feet property with an eight stall horse barn and a garage that fits 12 cars listed at slightly under $13 million. Also for sale is the former home of Apple Inc.’s co-founder Steve Wozniack. It is currently listed for $4.5 million.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjvVvcHa”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 5. Palo Alto, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,495,364
  strongMedian household income:/strong $120,670
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 39.3%

  In Palo Alto, 48.7% of adults have a graduate or professional degree — well more than four times the national rate of 10.3%. The city’s proximity to Stanford University, one of the top universities in the nation, may be partly the reason behind the city’s highly educated population. Among the companies headquartered in the city are Hewlett-Packard and Tesla Motors. The city is a large employer of highly skilled employees, as 25.3% of its workers are employed in professional, scientific and management occupations, well above the 10.4% of workers nationwide. Perhaps the most famous resident of Palo Alto is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjwFRgOL”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 4. Menlo Park, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,506,909
  strongMedian household income:/strong $107,860
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income: /strong34.9%

  Menlo Park is one of just four cities where the average listing price for a four-bedroom home exceeds $1.5 million. As of 2010, the median income in the city was slightly below $108,000. However, the recent Facebook IPO has been a windfall to the area. In June, real estate listing service Zillow reported that the “proportion of million-dollar listings” in Menlo Park — where Facebook is headquartered — rose by 87% between the company’s IPO filing and its first day as a public company. Among the houses available in Menlo Park are a five-bedroom home with a gym, theater area and wine cellar, which is listed for $4.6 million, and a six-bedroom 5,200 square feet home that’s listed for slightly under $5 million.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2Djx6iXxW”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 3. Saratoga, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,582,434
  strongMedian household income:/strong $145,023
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 43.1%

  Though home prices in the nearby San Jose metro area fell by 25.1% peak-to-trough, Saratoga is yet another example of how the Silicon Valley housing market has recovered. Currently, the median price per square foot for homes in San Jose is $337, according to Trulia, more than all housing markets except San Francisco and Honolulu. Prices for many homes in the area have skyrocketed, according to listings on Zillow. A home currently listed for nearly $10 million last sold for just over $2.1 million in 2000, while a home listed for $14.9 million last sold in 1994 for just over $1 million. As of 2010, 43.1% of Saratoga households earned more than $200,000 per year, while 40.9% of adult residents had a graduate degree, versus 10.3% nationwide.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjzBGWXg”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 2. Newport Beach, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,658,000
  strongMedian household income:/strong $107,007
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 37.6%

  Outside of Northern California, Newport Beach is the most expensive city to buy a home. Home prices are so high in the city that in 2009 legendary bond investor Bill Gross bought a nine-bedroom, 11,000 square feet home for $23 million — and then tore it down. In 2011, Gross listed the empty plot of land for $26.5 million. Orange County as a whole has a vacancy rate of just 1.5%, among the ten lowest in the nation. Despite a 32.7% drop in home prices from peak to trough during the recession, Orange County’s median price per square foot is $265. This trails only the Honolulu, New York, San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjzoBGvw”at 24/7 Wall St./a

• 1. Los Altos, CA

  strongAvg. listing price:/strong $1,706,688
  strongMedian household income:/strong $149,964
  strongPct. households $200,000+ income:/strong 43.6%

  In Los Altos, the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home lists for nearly $50,000 more than any other city in the nation. According to Coldwell Banker, for that price a buyer could purchase 28 similar homes in Redford, Mich., the nation’s cheapest housing market. In Redford, the average home lists for just $60,490. Currently, asking prices in the San Jose metro area have risen 12.7% year-over-year, according to Trulia. This is more than nearly every other metro area in the country.

  Read more a href=”http://247wallst.com/2012/11/28/the-10-most-expensive-cities-to-buy-a-home/#ixzz2DjzzahVU”at 24/7 Wall St./a

Loading Slideshow

• 1. Sharon, Massachusetts

  Population: 17,944
  Median home price: $375,000

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 2. Louisville, Colorado

  Population: 18,924
  Median home price: $368,110

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 3. Vienna, Virginia

  Population: 16,285
  Median home price: $550,000

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 4. Chanhassen, MN

  Population: 23,685
  Median home price: $201,500

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 5. Sherwood, Oregon

  Population: 18,736
  Median home price: $243,538

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 6. Berkeley Heights, NJ

  Population: 13,345
  Median home price: $474,000

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 7. Mason, Ohio

  Population: 31,761
  Median home price: $176,500

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 8. Papillion, Nebraska

  Population: 19, 837
  Median home price: $141,000

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 9. Apex, North Carolina

  Population: 40,205
  Median Home Price: $225,000

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

• 10. West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania

  Population: 22,421
  Median home price: $321,500

  *Demographic information provided by Onboard Informatics.

  a href=”http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/best-places/2013/snapshots/CS2576135.html” target=”_blank”Head over to CNNMoney to see the rest of the top 50 best places to live. /a