Cities Where People Spend the Most & Least on Clothes

Clothing prices have gone up significantly in recent years. That puts consumers in a difficult position, as some clothing purchases are always necessary in your budget. At the same time, you can counteract high prices by being selective about what you buy and avoiding designer brands.

Residents of some cities are better able to afford clothing than others. To determine where consumers spend the most and least relative to their earnings, WalletHub analyzed the average prices of a men’s dress shirt, a pair of boys’ jeans and a pair of women’s slacks in 100 of the largest cities, then compared them to the cities’ median household incomes.

“In certain cities, a family can expect to shell out close to 4% of the median monthly household income just for a pair of women’s slacks, a men’s dress shirt and a pair of boys’ jeans. In the cities where people spend the most, residents typically face high prices in conjunction with low incomes.


Since clothing purchases can be so expensive, consumers should always ask themselves if a purchase is really necessary. They should also consider sales, coupons, buying used, clothing swaps and other ways to reduce the pressure on their wallets.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

In order to avoid overspending on clothing, you’ll need to create a budget. You should add essential clothing items at the start when you put in your “needs,” and only include any luxury clothing purchases at the end with your “wants.”

Main Findings

Cities Where People Spend the Most & Least on Clothes

Note: *No. 1= Highest Spending

In-Depth Look at the Cities Where People Spend the Most

Detroit, MI

Detroit has the most expensive clothing prices relative to what residents earn. Buying a men’s dress shirt, a pair of boys’ jeans, and a pair of women’s slacks costs an average of around $130. That’s 3.9% of the city’s median monthly household income, and the highest percentage in the country.

For comparison, in the least expensive city, Gilbert, AZ, where those same purchases would cost residents just $80.25. That’s only around 0.8% of the median monthly income.

Detroit is the fourth-most expensive city for boys’ jeans, the sixth-most expensive for men’s dress shirts and the 24th-most expensive for women’s slacks. In addition, the city has the second-lowest median household income in the nation, at $39,575 per year. Because of the combination of high prices and low earnings, buying clothing takes up a disproportionately large share of Detroit residents’ incomes compared to people in other cities.

Cleveland, OH

People in Cleveland spend the second-most money on clothing as a percentage of their income. A men’s dress shirt, a pair of boys’ jeans and a pair of women’s slacks costs an average of around $110 in Cleveland, which is around 3.4% of the median monthly household income. This high percentage is the result of both high prices and low incomes for residents.

Cleveland has the 23rd-most expensive women’s slacks, the 33rd-most expensive men’s dress shirts, and the 29th-most expensive boys’ jeans out of the 100 cities in our study. The city also has the lowest median household income in the country, at $39,187 per year.

Birmingham, AL

Birmingham, AL, has the third-highest cost of clothing relative to residents’ earnings. People living in the city can expect to spend an average of $120 for a pair of women’s slacks, a men’s dress shirt, and a pair of boys’ jeans. That’s nearly 3.3% of the median monthly household income. This is due in large part to the fact that Birmingham has the third-lowest median household income in the country, at $44,376 per year.

Clothing prices are also quite expensive in Birmingham compared to other cities. Birmingham is the sixth-most expensive city for boys’ jeans, the 20th-most expensive for men’s dress shirts and the 27th-most expensive for women’s slacks out of the 100 cities in our study.

Ask the Experts

To gain more insight when it comes to spending money on and budgeting for clothing purchases, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. What tips do you have to help people avoid overspending on clothes?
2. How important is budgeting when it comes to saving money on clothes?
3. How do you think the current social and economic environment is influencing household spending on clothes decisions?

Ask the Experts

Elven Riley
Personal Money Management Expert – Seton Hall University
Read More

David (Steve) Heesacker
Business Instructor/Faculty Advisor - Central Carolina Community College
Read More

Fahri Karakaya
Ph.D. – Emeritus Professor of Marketing, Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Read More

Stan Emanuel
Senior Business Instructor, Business, Behavioral Sciences, Criminal Justice & Education - University of South Carolina Lancaster
Read More

Diane M. Phillips
Ph.D. – Professor of Marketing, Saint Joseph’s University
Read More

Michelle Kruger
Ph.D., CFP®, Part-Time Lecturer, University of Georgia, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Director, Financial Planning at Focus Partners Wealth
Read More

More Experts

Tips for Saving Money on Clothing

1. Look for sales and coupons: Clothing prices are usually a lot higher than the cost to make the items. Clothing store sales can save you a significant amount of money compared to the sticker price. There are also many stores that offer coupons, so it’s worth taking the time to look for them and apply them at checkout.
2. Budget carefully: If you know how to budget well, you’ll be clear on how much you can afford to spend on your clothing purchases, and can set aside an appropriate amount of money. When you make your budget, you can add essential clothing purchases in with your “needs” while putting expensive luxury items in last with your “wants.” You also might not need to budget money for clothing every month.
3. Buy used: Consignment stores and thrift shops are great places to find low-cost clothing. Although the quality will be inconsistent, you should be able to find some fantastic items if you take the time to look.
4. Join local community groups: Check out local community groups on social media, like “Buy Nothing” groups, where people often give away used or even new clothes for free.
5. Limit your designer clothing purchases: A shirt with a designer logo can be tens or even hundreds of dollars more than a different shirt of the same quality. Choosing not to buy big clothing brand names can save you a lot of money.

Methodology

In order to determine the cities where people spend the most and least on clothes, WalletHub analyzed the average price of a men's dress shirt, a pair of boys’ jeans, and a pair of women’s slacks across 100 of the most populous cities.

We summed up the individual costs of the components and adjusted the resulting figure to the median monthly income in each city, then used these results to rank-order our sample.

For simplicity, we considered the acquisition of only one unit of each component included in our calculation.

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 3, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau and Council for Community and Economic Research.

Supporting Video Files:

• YouTube (for web embedding)
• Raw video files (for editing into clips)