The Income You Need in Major U.S. Cities May Surprise You
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of income you need to make in major U.S. cities to live comfortably, we have your answer. The experts have weighed in and determined what income you need to thrive in major U.S. cities, both for single people and families of four, and the numbers may surprise you. Let’s dig in.
The Income You Need in Major U.S. Cities
A new study from Smartasset.com looks at the cost of living in different cities across America. In the study, they list the income you need in major U.S. cities to live at a comfortable level. They define “comfortable” as the income you need to cover a 50/30/20 budget. Their budget methodology also assumes that 50% of the monthly income can pay for necessities such as housing and utility costs, 30% can go towards discretionary spending and 20% can be put in a savings account or investments. They also extrapolated the income needed for a 50/30/20 budget from the price of necessities utilizing information from the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
Before we get to specific cities, let’s look at some key findings. Currently, on average, someone has to make $96,500 to live comfortably in a major U.S. city. The number, of course, goes way up for a family of four. Families need to be pulling in an average combined income of about $235,000 to pay for two adults and two children. Of course, some families can make it work on less, but the study points out that in those cases, families are often living paycheck to paycheck with little ability to save or invest.
Now, let’s get to some specific cities. A family of four must have a combined income of more than $300k to live comfortably in six cities. How mind-blowing is that? Those cities are San Francisco, California ($339,123); San Jose, California ($334,547); Boston, Massachusetts ($319,738); Arlington, Virginia ($318,573); New York City ($318,406); and Oakland, California ($316,243). For a single person, the city that requires the most amount of money to live comfortably is New York City with an annual salary of $138,570. Other expensive cities to live in include Seattle, Washington; Chula Vista, California; Irvine, California; Santa Ana, California; and San Jose, California. They also note that some of the least expensive major cities to live in include Houston, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Toledo, Ohio; and Laredo, Texas. So, if you’re looking to make a big move to a major city, this is a reminder to save up your pennies and look into the income you need.
