With some serious cost-cutting, it’s possible to make ends meet in an expensive city. Living comfortably, however, is a different story. Using the 50-30-20 budgeting guideline, GOBankingRates calculated the income you need to live comfortably in 50 cities across the United States.


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According to the 50-30-20 budgeting rule, half of your after-tax income should be spent on necessities, 30 percent should go toward discretionary expenses, and 20 percent should be put toward debt or savings goals. With this budget in mind, GOBankingRates analyzed cost of living data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other agencies to come up with income amounts for the 50 most populated cities in the States.


They explain:

GOBankingRates conducted a cost-of-living comparison of the [50] most populous U.S. cities, surveying dollar amounts of living expenses including rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare. This total, which accounts for necessities, was then doubled to find how much money a single person needs to earn in that city to follow a 50-30-20 budget. This study also compares the total amount of income needed to the actual median household income in each city to see if differences in cost of living are matched by differences in pay.

Of course, the definition of comfortable is highly subjective, so keep that in mind when looking at these numbers. You may very well be able to say, “Hey, I live in Los Angeles, and I don’t make nearly that much, but I’m comfortable!” Everyone’s situation varies. Plus, in some cities, it’s easy to find great housing for much cheaper than average, which would lower your housing costs quite a bit. Still, the 50-30-20 guideline is a decent measure for quantifying something as subjective as this.

Here are a handful cities on their list, along with the income needed to live comfortably in those cities:

San Francisco : $119,570



: $119,570 Boston : $84,422



: $84,422 Washington, DC: $83,104



$83,104 New York : $87,446



: $87,446 Los Angeles : $74,371



: $74,371 Denver : $62,842



: $62,842 Nashville : $61,015



: $61,015 Baltimore : 53,897



: 53,897 Houston : $60,795



: $60,795 Miami: $77,057

The study includes a breakdown of how much of that income would be spent on housing, discretionary spending, and savings for each city. Check it out at the link below.


How Much Money You Need to Live Comfortably in the 50 Biggest Cities | GOBankingRates