Cities with the highest, lowest salaries needed to live comfortably

Some of the most affordable cities are located in Texas and Ohio, while some of the least affordable are in California, Arizona and Minnesota, according to a March 7 analysis from SmartAsset.

The financial services company used MIT's living wage calculator to determine the basic cost of living — including housing, food, transportation and income taxes — for a single individual with no kids and for two working adults with two children in 99 U.S. cities. It then applied these costs to a 50/30/20 budget to determine a "comfortable" salary, assuming 50% of income would be spent on needs, 30% on wants and 20% on savings or debt payments. 

Here are the cities with the lowest and highest salaries required to live comfortably, for both single adults and families, per the analysis: 

Cities with the lowest salary needed for a single adult to live comfortably: 

1. Houston — $75,088

2. El Paso , Texas — $75,254

3. Lubbock, Texas — $75,379

4. Toledo, Ohio — $77,501

5. Laredo, Texas — $78,458

6. Milwaukee — $79,664

7. Lexington, Ky. — $79,997

8. Tulsa, Okla. — $81,078

9. Wichita, Kan. — $81,203

10. Cleveland — $81,786

11 (tie). New Orleans — $$81,869

11 (tie). Denver — $81,869

11 (tie). Winston-Salem, N.C. — $81,869

14. Lincoln, Neb. — $82,077

15. Cincinnati — $82,243

16. Corpus Christi, Texas — $82,493

17 (tie). Oklahoma City, Okla. — $82,659

17 (tie). Spokane, Wash. — $82,659

19. Albuquerque, N.M. — $83,283

20. Tucson, Ariz. — $83,699

21. Fort Wayne, Ind. — $84,032

22. Detroit — $84,947

23. Baltimore — $89,989

24. Indianapolis — $85,030

25. San Antonio — $85,072

Cities with the lowest salary needed for two working adults with two kids to live comfortably: 

1. Houston — $175,219

2. Laredo, Texas — $179,046

3. El Paso, Texas — $180,461

4. Lubbock, Texas — $181,043

5. Wichita, Kan. — $186,784

6. New Orleans — $191,942

7. Corpus Christi, Texas — $192,275

8. Memphis, Tenn. — $194,106

9. Denver — $194,605

10. Winston-Salem, N.C. — $194,605

11. Lexington, Ky. — $196,102

12. Tulsa, Okla. — $199,430

13. Fort Wayne, Ind. — $200,262

14. Norfolk, Va. — $200,595

15. San Antonio — $200,762

16. Oklahoma City, Okla. — $201,594

17. Louisville, Ky. — $201,926

18. Greensboro, N.C. — $203,674

19. Port St. Lucie, Fla. — $205,587

20. Indianapolis — $206,003

21. Albuquerque, N.M. — $207,251

22 (tie). Dallas — $208,000

22 (tie). Plano, Texas — $208,000

22 (tie). Irving, Texas — $208,000

22 (tie). Garland, Texas — $208,000

Cities with the highest salary needed for a single adult to live comfortably: 

1. New York City — $138,570

2. San Jose, Calif. — $136,739

3 (tie). Santa Ana, Calif. — $126,797

3 (tie). Irvine, Calif. — $126,797

5. Boston — $124,966

6 (tie). Chula Vista, Calif. — $122,803

6 (tie). San Diego — $122,803

8. San Francisco — $119,558

9. Seattle — $119,392

10. Oakland, Calif. — $118,768

11. Arlington, Va. — $117,686

12 (tie). Jersey City, N.J. — $116,646

12 (tie). Newark, N.J. — $116,646

14 (tie). Anaheim, Calif. — $114,691

14 (tie). Long Beach, Calif. — $114,691

16. Honolulu — $111,904

17. Los Angeles — $110,781

18. Aurora, Colo. — $110,115

19. Portland, Ore. — $110,032

20. Riverside, Calif. — $109,408

21. Atlanta — $107,453

22. Sacramento, Calif. — $104,790

23 (tie). Glendale, Ariz. — $102,752

23 (tie). Gilbert Town, Ariz. — $102,752

23 (tie). Raleigh, N.C. — $102,752

Cities with the highest salary needed for two working adults with two kids to live comfortably: 

1. San Francisco — $339,123

2. San Jose, Calif. — $334,547

3. Boston — $319,738

4. Arlington, Va. — $318,573

5. New York City — $318,406

6. Oakland, Calif. — $316,243

7. Honolulu — $299,520

8 (tie). Santa Ana, Calif. — $291,450

8 (tie). Irving, Calif. — $291,450

10. Portland, Ore. — $289,786

11 (tie). Chula Vista, Calif. — $289,453

11 (tie). San Diego — $289,453

13 (tie). Jersey City, N.J. — $285,043

13 (tie). Newark, N.J. — $285,043

15.  Seattle — $283,712

16. Aurora, Colo. — $280,467

17 (tie). Anaheim, Calif. — $280,218

17 (tie). Long Beach, Calif. — $280,218

19. Los Angeles — $276,557

20. Washington, D.C. — $275,642

21. Minneapolis — $261,914

22. St. Paul, Minn. — $256,589

23. Sacramento, Calif. — $253,344

24. Colorado Springs, Colo. — $253,011

25. Riverside, Calif. — $250,682

 

View the full analysis here

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