2016 data

It can be easy to get caught up with the allure of a potential new neighborhood. You’ve found an affordable property in a secure community with access to public transportation. It’s located in a residential area, but conveniently close to shopping, restaurants and schools a walk away. However, affording the purchase price may not be enough to kick-start the American dream.

By analyzing city and state data sourced from Zillow, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Urban Institute and Barchart, we’ve calculated how much you’d need to earn to live comfortably in nearly 80 cities across the United States. Halt your house hunting and check out how much you need to earn to buy a home and live comfortably in your city of choice.

Higher home values require higher salaries

Among our findings is that in 6 of the top 10 cities — San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City and Seattle — you need to earn a higher salary due to higher home values. This means that the salary required for you to get a mortgage for the average home is higher than the salary required to cover mortgage payments and average debts and expenditures.

Life is expensive, but just how expensive? Read on to learn more about what we’ve discovered.

Key findings

San Francisco topped our list, with a huge salary of $180,600 required simply to buy an average home costing $1,119,500.

San Jose and Los Angeles came in a distant second and third, with $129,864 and $90,244 respectively required to purchase a home.

Californian cities took 4 places in the top 10 most expensive cities we analyzed.

The cheapest city analyzed was Jackson, Mississippi, where citizens can live comfortably on $43,265.

What does it mean to “live comfortably”?

For this analysis, we assumed that living comfortably includes the ability to purchase a home (presuming a 20% deposit has been saved), cover average per-person expenditures and pay off annual non-mortgage-related household debt.

We based our analysis on:

Median house prices

Average 30-year 20% deposit interest rates in the state

Mortgage payments, including mortgage interest

Average non-mortgage debt in the city

Average non-housing expenditures in the state

Three tips to help your comfortable living

1. Sell your old items

If you’re hoarding items you haven’t used in years, it’s time to sell them for some spare cash. Declutter your home and advertise your unused goods online, or get the whole family involved with a garage sale. There’s a market for almost everything, so store items you aren’t fond of and set an annual date to bulk sell.

2. Consolidate your debt

If you’re struggling against existing debt, consider a balance transfer card. This type of card allows you to transfer your debt into one place and pay it back at a low (or even no) interest rate for a specified time. Set up automatic deductions to ensure you don’t miss repayment dates.

3. Don’t pay full price

Clip coupons, browse discount sites and actually look through your junk mail before tossing it in the trash — every deal counts. Although it may feel overwhelming to begin, after a couple of times seeking out discounts, you’ll know exactly where to find the best deals on your weekly staples. You could even see yourself saving hundreds a month.

US cities by required salary

Here’s our full list of cities included in the study. Search for your hometown, or click any column heading to sort that column’s data.

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Rank City Home value Home deposit Nonhousing expenditure Nonmortgage debt Interest rate Required salary Median state household income as % of required salary 1 San Francisco, CA $1,119,500 $895,600 $29,842 $16,230 3.88% $180,600 34% 2 San Jose, CA $805,000 $644,000 $29,842 $15,220 3.88% $129,864 47% 3 Los Angeles, CA $559,400 $447,520 $29,842 $14,407 3.88% $90,244 68% 4 Washington, DC $502,600 $402,080 $45,366 $18,700 3.42% $85,517 81% 5 San Diego, CA $525,800 $420,640 $29,842 $16,284 3.88% $84,823 72% 6 New York, NY $605,000 $484,000 $35,943 $16,255 2.76% $84,791 69% 7 Seattle, WA $525,900 $420,720 $32,429 $17,939 3.78% $83,811 72% 8 Boston, MA $477,100 $381,680 $39,481 $18,491 3.82% $79,366 85% 9 Worcester, MA $191,100 $152,880 $39,481 $17,714 3.82% $65,764 103% 10 Denver, CO $327,400 $261,920 $31,564 $18,045 3.86% $64,362 92% 11 Portland, OR $340,800 $272,640 $29,704 $16,069 3.82% $61,055 83% 12 Albany, NY $157,400 $125,920 $35,943 $18,676 2.76% $60,796 97% 13 New Haven, CT $151,000 $120,800 $36,896 $17,011 3.64% $60,530 115% 14 Colorado Springs, CO $217,900 $174,320 $31,564 $18,584 3.86% $59,967 99% 15 Springfield, MA $127,900 $102,320 $39,481 $14,596 3.82% $59,812 113% 16 Virginia Beach, VA $246,800 $197,440 $30,743 $17,331 3.75% $59,047 110% 17 Riverside, CA $310,100 $248,080 $29,842 $14,849 3.88% $58,698 105% 18 Hartford, CT $89,500 $71,600 $36,896 $17,314 3.64% $58,136 120% 19 Sacramento, CA $253,100 $202,480 $29,842 $15,880 3.88% $57,155 108% 20 Chicago, IL $200,300 $160,240 $31,693 $16,483 3.71% $57,038 100% 21 Charleston, SC $254,300 $203,440 $27,179 $18,434 3.76% $56,933 79% 22 Pittsburgh, PA $106,100 $84,880 $32,401 $19,822 3.70% $56,911 93% 23 Syracuse, NY $79,000 $63,200 $35,943 $17,865 2.76% $56,908 103% 24 Philadelphia, PA $121,600 $97,280 $32,401 $18,688 3.70% $56,462 94% 25 Rochester, NY $64,200 $51,360 $35,943 $17,611 2.76% $56,073 105% 26 Providence, RI $156,600 $125,280 $32,299 $16,425 3.72% $55,661 101% 27 Allentown, PA $103,400 $82,720 $32,401 $18,341 3.70% $55,311 96% 28 Harrisburg, PA $66,700 $53,360 $32,401 $19,874 3.70% $55,222 96% 29 Spokane, WA $149,300 $119,440 $32,429 $16,045 3.78% $55,136 109% 30 Baltimore, MD $109,800 $87,840 $32,314 $17,663 3.84% $54,913 135% 31 Madison, WI $206,900 $165,520 $30,218 $15,348 3.62% $54,619 97% 32 Omaha, NE $140,500 $112,400 $31,234 $17,138 3.75% $54,619 96% 33 Richmond, VA $152,400 $121,920 $30,743 $17,088 3.75% $54,607 119% 34 Jacksonville, FL $132,300 $105,840 $29,594 $17,919 3.84% $53,460 88% 35 Stockton, CA $218,200 $174,560 $29,842 $13,508 3.88% $53,206 116% 36 Tampa, FL $152,800 $122,240 $29,594 $16,596 3.84% $53,058 89% 37 Bakersfield, CA $208,400 $166,720 $29,842 $13,680 3.88% $52,935 116% 38 Scranton, PA $81,100 $64,880 $32,401 $16,942 3.70% $52,927 100% 39 Phoenix, AZ $184,900 $147,920 $27,464 $17,126 3.86% $52,922 94% 40 Orlando, FL $146,400 $117,120 $29,594 $16,464 3.84% $52,639 90% 41 Raleigh, NC $198,200 $158,560 $26,627 $17,144 3.75% $52,583 89% 42 Columbus, OH $108,400 $86,720 $29,827 $17,768 3.68% $52,373 93% 43 Des Moines, IA $114,000 $91,200 $29,813 $16,906 3.53% $51,652 102% 44 Cincinnati, OH $110,900 $88,720 $29,827 $16,902 3.68% $51,617 95% 45 Atlanta, GA $180,000 $144,000 $27,088 $16,480 3.73% $51,551 96% 46 Columbia, SC $125,200 $100,160 $27,179 $18,661 3.76% $51,413 88% 47 Fresno, CA $186,600 $149,280 $29,842 $12,899 3.88% $51,170 120% 48 Nashville, TN $188,200 $150,560 $26,873 $15,882 3.77% $51,143 87% 49 Charlotte, NC $162,900 $130,320 $26,627 $17,163 3.75% $51,032 91% 50 Las Vegas, NV $192,900 $154,320 $27,557 $14,692 3.93% $51,015 102% 51 Houston, TX $142,000 $113,600 $28,853 $15,332 3.84% $50,568 104% 52 Akron, OH $61,000 $48,800 $29,827 $18,018 3.68% $50,534 97% 53 Lakeland, FL $122,000 $97,600 $29,594 $15,397 3.84% $50,475 94% 54 Dallas, TX $133,000 $106,400 $28,853 $15,495 3.84% $50,326 104% 55 Kansas City, MO $107,300 $85,840 $29,362 $16,211 3.69% $50,308 95% 56 Grand Rapids, MI $108,600 $86,880 $30,183 $15,109 3.65% $50,061 98% 57 Toledo, OH $56,700 $45,360 $29,827 $17,330 3.68% $49,656 98% 58 Cleveland, OH $50,900 $40,720 $29,827 $17,246 3.68% $49,317 99% 59 Oklahoma City, OK $125,600 $100,480 $27,412 $16,124 3.66% $49,059 94% 60 Milwaukee, WI $93,500 $74,800 $30,218 $14,688 3.62% $48,997 108% 61 Wichita, KS $105,400 $84,320 $29,013 $15,121 3.61% $48,740 106% 62 Tucson, AZ $147,000 $117,600 $27,464 $14,547 3.86% $48,635 103% 63 El Paso, TX $111,300 $89,040 $28,853 $14,631 3.84% $48,487 108% 64 Greenville, SC $140,100 $112,080 $27,179 $14,321 3.76% $47,736 94% 65 Little Rock, AR $126,100 $100,880 $24,849 $17,333 3.66% $47,727 86% 66 Dayton, OH $48,100 $38,480 $29,827 $15,667 3.68% $47,614 103% 67 Tulsa, OK $105,000 $84,000 $27,412 $15,468 3.66% $47,497 97% 68 Youngstown, OH $31,400 $25,120 $29,827 $16,246 3.68% $47,457 103% 69 Ogden, UT $124,400 $99,520 $26,449 $15,351 3.80% $47,365 126% 70 Chattanooga, TN $122,200 $97,760 $26,873 $14,475 3.77% $46,794 95% 71 Detroit, MI $38,600 $30,880 $30,183 $14,860 3.65% $46,738 105% 72 Greensboro, NC $119,300 $95,440 $26,627 $14,570 3.75% $46,501 100% 73 McAllen, TX $115,100 $92,080 $28,853 $12,455 3.84% $46,482 113% 74 Knoxville, TN $116,300 $93,040 $26,873 $13,978 3.77% $46,034 97% 75 Augusta, GA $80,200 $64,160 $27,088 $14,718 3.73% $45,363 109% 76 Memphis, TN $67,700 $54,160 $26,873 $15,189 3.77% $45,079 99% 77 Birmingham, AL $60,200 $48,160 $25,553 $15,835 3.71% $44,051 99% 78 Jackson, MS $62,800 $50,240 $24,711 $15,759 3.76% $43,265 91%

Source: finder.com’s analysis of data from Zillow, the US Department of Commerce, the Urban Institute and Barchart.

Take a look at this same data on the following interactive map.

Methodology

We sourced city home values from Zillow (2015) and state expenditure data from the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (2014). For city debt data, we used information from the Urban Institute’s 2013–2014 Debt in America report. State interest rates were sourced from Barchart (2015).

We used two distinct methods to calculate the salaries required to live comfortably in each city.

Method 1: Mortgage payments + expenditures + debt

Yearly mortgage payments with 20% deposit based on the median house price in the city and the average interest rate in the state, plus average non-housing expenditures in the state, plus average non-mortgage-related debt in the city.

Method 2: Minimum salary for mortgage

The minimum salary required to purchase an average home was calculated using the industry standard 28% debt-to-income ratio.

The larger of the two results was used as the required salary for each city. In practice, this meant that Method 1 was used for all cities except Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle.

**Expenditure included.

Personal consumption expenditures

When it comes to things you and your family spend money on to live day to day, you’re looking at your expenses, including: