If you want to get rich leave New York City, Washington DC or Los Angeles and head to Plano, Texas, Aurora¹, Colorado or Omaha, Nebraska where wages are high and life is good, a new survey showed.

A poll that ranked 69 US cities with populations of more than 250,000 people showed the best places to build personal wealth and raise a family were in cities where some of the nation's largest companies are headquartered.

The No. 1 city, Plano, is the ninth largest metropolis² in Texas and home to corporate³ headquarters including soft drink company Dr Pepper Snapple Group, PepsiCo's snack foods company Frito-Lay and movie theater company Cinemark.

"The city has a reputation as one of the best places in the country for employers to do business and for families to live and work. Plano has a nationally acclaimed⁴ public education system and well-educated, diverse residents," Salary.com, a pay and performance web site that conducted the survey, said.

Aurora, the third most populous⁵ city in Colorado, came in second, according to the survey which said its economy is booming and it is a business leader in key growth industries such as biotechnology, aerospace⁶ and high technology.

Nebraska's largest city Omaha, home to famed U.S. investor⁷ Warren Buffett, nabbed third place. Buffett, who is the richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine, is often called the "Sage⁸ of Omaha" for his successful investments.

New York City came in last, behind Washington DC and Los Angeles.

"These cities do have some of the highest average wages in the country, but when it comes to stretching your dollar and accumulating a nest egg for the future, it is difficult to do in these cities," Salary.com said.

The survey measured the relative value of earnings⁹, cost of living and unemployment rates, along with diversity of industry, education level of the cities' population, proximity¹⁰ to post secondary institutions, percent of population below poverty level and median travel time to work.

一项最新调查表明，如果你想致富，那就赶紧离开纽约、华盛顿和洛杉矶，去得克萨斯州的普莱诺、科罗拉多州的奥罗拉，或者内布拉斯加州的奥马哈吧！这几个城市的工资水平高，生活也不错。

美国一项民意调查为69个人口超过25万的城市进行排名，结果显示，一些大型公司的总部所在地驻地是最适合养家致富的城市。

第一大“致富城市”普莱诺是得克萨斯州第九大城市，同时它是Dr Pepper Snapple Group软饮料集团公司、“百事”集团旗下的菲多利食品公司以及Cinemark影视公司等大型公司的驻地。

开展该调查的薪酬和业绩网站Salary.com评价说：“普莱诺一直被誉为做生意及工作和生活的几大理想城市之一，该城市拥有享誉全国的公共教育体制以及教育水平高、背景多样化的居民。”

科罗拉多州第三大人口最多的城市奥罗拉名列该调查第二位，据介绍，该市经济发展迅速，而且是生物工程、航空及高科技等重点经济增长领域的“领头羊”。

内布拉斯加州最大城市、美国投资大师沃伦·巴菲特的家乡奥马哈名列第三。据《福布斯》杂志发布的富豪榜，目前巴菲特是世界首富，他由于擅长投资常被誉为“股神”。

纽约位居华盛顿和洛杉矶之后，名列最后一位。

Salary.com网站评价说：“尽管这几个城市的平均工资水平位居全国前列，但如果要让钱生钱，为将来积累财富，在这些地方很难做到。”

该调查对受访城市的收入相对值、生活成本、失业率，以及行业多样性、居民教育水平、大专院校普及度、贫困线以下人口比例、平均通勤时间等因素进行了综合衡量。