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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