The standard revealed-preference hedonic estimate of a city’s quality of life is proportional to that
city’s cost-of-living relative to its wage-level. Adjusting the standard hedonic model to account for
federal taxes, non-housing costs, and non-labor income produces quality-of-life estimates different
from the existing literature. The adjusted model produces city rankings positively correlated with popular-literature
and stated-preference rankings, and predicts how housing costs rise with wage levels, controlling for
amenities. Mild seasons, sunshine, and coastal location account for most quality-of-life differences;
once these amenities are accounted for, quality of life does not depend on city size, contrary to previous
findings.