In a time when unemployment is rising and layoffs are spreading, many people assess where they want to live and where they can make their money go the furthest. Americans have always been a migratory people when the chance to follow opportunity arises.

Salary.com has done a new survey of the American cities where your paycheck will stretch the most. At the top of the list sits a suburb of Dallas called Plano, TX. The No. 2 spot was nabbed by a Denver suburb known as Aurora, CO.

One shocker on the list (for Clark) was Seattle at No. 10. He's always considered the Emerald City a very costly place to live, but then again, salaries are high throughout the area.

The single worst place to live (relative to salary) is New York, followed by Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and others. Several California cities figure into the very bottom of the list.

Salary.com also offers a feature where -- if you have a job offer in another city -- you can plug in the salary and see where that puts you to afford everyday life.