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Here's how much money you need to live comfortably in America's biggest cities

By Daniel Miller
Updated  October 3, 2024 12:22pm EDT
Money
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FILE-A boardwalk is filled with people walking, riding bikes and skateboarding in a city. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • A new report ranks cities where you need a certain salary to live comfortably in the largest cities in the U.S.
    • San Jose, California ranked first on the list of cities in America, according to the GoBankingRates report.
    • Six cities on the list where you need a high salary to live comfortably are in California.

Cities nationwide offer appeal to people for a variety of reasons, from lifestyle to affordability. And if you are thinking about making the leap to a new place to call home, it is ideal to make sure you have the salary to cover the cost of living in a new locale. 

GOBankingRates created a report to determine the salary needed to live comfortably in the nation’s largest cities by examining the 50 largest U.S. cities by population and determined the salary needed to live comfortably in each one. The team also used data from the U.S. Census, Zillow, BestPlaces and the Bureau of Labor of Statistics.

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The online personal finance company defined "living comfortably" in their report by applying the "50/30/20" rule, meaning needs should not exceed 50% of an individual’s income. 

Researchers also ranked the cities in their list by population growth between 2021 and 2022, and the increase/decrease, household median income, the average value for a single-family home, a livability score, and the total annual cost of living. 

According to the report, of the eight cities where a high salary is required to live comfortably, six are in California. 

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In the most expensive city on the list, you need an annual salary of $266,000 to live comfortably. Additionally, you can live comfortably in the least expensive city on the list for less than $65,000 a year.

Top 20 cities in America

  1. San Jose, California – $265,926
  2. San Francisco, California – $252,878
  3. San Diego, California – $207,332
  4. Los Angeles, California – $194,500
  5. Seattle, Washington – $179,547
  6. Long Beach, California – $177,553
  7. New York City, New York – $175,909
  8. Oakland, California – $171,898
  9. Boston, Massachusetts – $164,993
  10. Washington, D.C. – $153,061
  11. Miami, Florida – $143,861
  12. Denver, Colorado – $132,096
  13. Portland, Oregon – $126,083
  14. Austin, Texas – $125,372
  15. Sacramento, California – $119,057
  16. Las Vegas, Nevada – $112,763
  17. Atlanta, Georgia – $111,835
  18. Mesa, Arizona – $109,900
  19. Nashville, Tennessee – $109,251
  20. Phoenix, Arizona – $108,919

To see the complete list of the cities where you need a certain salary to live comfortably, click here. 

The Source

  • Information for this story was provided by the GOBankingRates. The personal finance resource analyzed the 50 largest U.S. cities by population and determined the salary needed to live comfortably in each one. The organization determined the top 50 cities by population using the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey, the most recent available. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.