10 cities where residents spend the most — and least — on healthcare

A WalletHub analysis released Dec. 15 highlights how much healthcare costs vary by region, based on the share of residents’ income spent on care.

Detroit ranked highest — and Gilbert, Ariz., lowest — in WalletHub’s ranking of cities where residents spend the largest portion of their income on healthcare.

For the rankings, the personal finance website used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Council for Community and Economic Research to compare the prices of five components: physician, dentist and optometrist visits, plus the costs of ibuprofen and insulin glargine, across 100 of the nation’s largest cities.

WalletHub combined the individual costs and adjusted the totals based on each city’s median monthly income, then ranked the cities accordingly.

Below are the 10 cities where residents spend the greatest share of their income on healthcare, along with the percentage of median monthly household income spent:

1. Detroit — 13.17%
   
2. Cleveland — 11.35%
   
3. Newark, N.J. — 11.28%
   
4. Toledo, Ohio — 11.03%
   
5. Birmingham, Ala. — 9.97%
   
6. Milwaukee — 9.58%
   
7. Winston-Salem, N.C. — 9.44%
   
8. New Orleans — 9.28%
   
9. Spokane, Wash. — 9.16%
   
10. Baton Rouge, La. — 9.01%

And here are the 10 cities where residents spend the smallest share:

1. Gilbert, Ariz. — 3.54%
   
2. Fremont, Calif. — 3.67%
   
3. Irvine, Calif. — 3.82%
   
4. Scottsdale, Ariz. — 4.00%
   
5. Huntington Beach, Calif. — 4.13%
   
6. Chandler, Ariz. — 4.14%
   
7. Santa Clarita, Calif. — 4.15%
   
8. San Jose, Calif. — 4.60%
   
9. Henderson, Nev. — 4.62%
   
10. San Francisco — 4.64%

Note: The analysis was based on prices for a single unit of each component, with data collected as of Nov. 20. View the full list here.