Americans living in big cities are more likely to be financially strained than their suburban counterparts, according to a survey. 

Nearly 70% of urban dwellers were living paycheck to paycheck last month, compared with 55% of suburbanites, a survey by LendingClub Corp. found. At the same time, more wealthy people—who tend to live in large cities—are living paycheck to paycheck, and the cohort is growing especially in the West.

“While income is obviously a major factor, where you live appears to be almost equally important in factoring whether a consumer is living paycheck to paycheck,” said Anuj Nayar, financial health officer at LendingClub.

Cities like New York and San Francisco have long been notoriously expensive and are bouncing back from their pandemic slumps. The data suggest that the cost of living in big cities is still particularly high, while consumers in the South—where many people fled to during Covid-19—tend to be better off financially.

While urban consumers are more likely to have debt compared to rural and suburban residents, many repay their credit card balances through installment plans for some relief, Nayar said. 

Nearly a quarter of urban dwellers in the Northeast cite having to pay for costs of other family members as the most important reason they live paycheck to paycheck, while only 13% of consumers living in southern cities say the same thing. Consumers in the South are also less likely to say that they buy unnecessary items.

The survey, which polled more than 3,600 people from April 3 to 17, captures the period in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. More generally, many of the tech job losses have stemmed from the West, where the share of consumers living paycheck to paycheck saw the steepest increase in the past year.

LendingClub, which conducted the survey in partnership with industry publication Pymnts.com, found that for about six in 10 Americans, their paycheck only covers their monthly bills. That’s about the same share as in April 2022.

The results also found that fewer consumers living paycheck to paycheck have struggled to pay their bills in the past year as inflation has ebbed.

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.