15 Biggest Cities Where You Need a Salary Over $100K To Live Comfortably

Some of the biggest cities in the United States also require some big salaries in order to live comfortably.

To help you compare some of the biggest cities in the country, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow, BestPlaces, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the salary you’ll need to live comfortably. To define “living comfortably,” we’ve applied the 50/30/20 rule, which states that needs should not exceed 50% of a person’s income. The list also ranked the cities in our list by population growth between 2021 and 2022, which has the most recent figures available.

Here they are in descending order of rate of growth.

You can also find out the best place to live on a $100,000 salary in every state.

• Household median income: $72,092
• Single-family home average value: $440,515
• Total cost of living (annual): $54,460
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $108,919

• Household median income: $86,556
• Single-family home average value: $565,592
• Total cost of living (annual): $62,686
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $125,372

• Household median income: $74,070
• Single-family home average value: $409,863
• Total cost of living (annual): $51,137
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $102,274

• Household median income: $66,356
• Single-family home average value: $452,326
• Total cost of living (annual): $56,382
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $112,763

• Household median income: $116,068
• Single-family home average value: $955,374
• Total cost of living (annual): $89,773
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $179,547

• Household median income: $73,766
• Single-family home average value: $453,125
• Total cost of living (annual): $54,950
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $109,900

• Household median income: $73,827
• Single-family home average value: $392,067
• Total cost of living (annual): $50,760
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $101,519

• Household median income: $78,954
• Single-family home average value: $495,207
• Total cost of living (annual): $59,529
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $119,057

• Household median income: $79,026
• Single-family home average value: $466,510
• Total cost of living (annual): $53,948
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $107,897

• Household median income: $85,853
• Single-family home average value: $615,213
• Total cost of living (annual): $66,048
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $132,096 

• Household median income: $78,631
• Single-family home average value: $454,961
• Total cost of living (annual): $53,633
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $107,266

• Household median income: $54,858
• Single-family home average value: $659,560
• Total cost of living (annual): $71,931
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $143,861 

• Household median income: $63,001
• Single-family home average value: $393,607
• Total cost of living (annual): $50,852
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $101,704

• Household median income: $77,655
• Single-family home average value: $449,613
• Total cost of living (annual): $55,918
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $111,835

• Household median income: $71,328
• Single-family home average value: $453,347
• Total cost of living (annual): $54,625
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $109,251

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed the 50 largest U.S. cities by population and determined the salary needed to live comfortably in each one. GBR determined the top 50 cities by population using the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey, the most recent available. Using the same survey, GBR sourced 2022 total population, 2022 household median income, 2021 total population, and 2021 household median income. Average single-family home values from July 2024 and July 2023 were sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index. By assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (as sourced from Federal Reserve Economic Data), the average mortgage costs were calculated. Cost-of-living indexes were sourced from BestPlaces. The national average expenditure costs for all residents were sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. Mortgage and expenditure costs were used to calculate the cost of living for each city. Using the 50/30/20 rule (which states that needs should not exceed 50% of income), the household income to live comfortably was calculated for each city. The cities were sorted by year-over-year population growth. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 10, 2024.