10 Cities Where You Can Live Comfortably Making $80K or Less

How much do Americans believe they need to earn to feel wealthy? According to a survey from Edelman Financial Engines, 6 in 10 Americans think the answer is at least $100,000 annually. However, the six-figure salary is largely desired to ease financial worries such as bills. Those seeking a comfortable lifestyle may be surprised to learn earning $80,000 is enough money to afford living in some of the nation’s biggest cities.

GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census, Zillow, Sperling’s BestPlaces and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the cities where you can live comfortably on an $80,000 salary. We also applied the 50/30/20 rule to ensure that needs do not exceed more than 50% of income.

Ranked in order from cities where you’d need to earn the highest to lowest salary, see where you can live on $80,000 or less.

• Total population: 505,958
• Household median income: $65,256
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,367
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,935
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,302
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $79,244

• Total population: 882,006
• Household median income: $59,110
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,319
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,889
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,207
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $76,979

• Total population: 573,299
• Household median income: $49,733
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,175
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,972
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,147
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $75,526

• Total population: 584,548
• Household median income: $58,349
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,050
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,096
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,147
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $75,524

• Total population: 677,181
• Household median income: $55,710
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,260
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,878
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,138
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $75,307

• Total population: 681,088
• Household median income: $64,251
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,162
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,972
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,134
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $75,211

• Total population: 411,938
• Household median income: $56,648
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,182
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,922
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,105
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $74,513

• Total population: 395,951
• Household median income: $60,712
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $1,139
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,911
• Total cost of living (monthly): $3,050
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $73,207

• Total population: 630,027
• Household median income: $48,090
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $838
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,912
• Total cost of living (monthly): $2,750
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $66,000

• Total population: 636,787
• Household median income: $37,761
• Average monthly mortgage cost: $411
• Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,291
• Total cost of living (monthly): $2,702
• Salary needed to live comfortably using the 50/30/20 rule: $64,849

Methodology: GOBankingRates found the top 50 cities by population using the U.S. Census American Community Survey. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and national average expenditure costs were sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. Using the 50/30/20 rule that states that needs should not exceed 50% of income, the household income to live comfortably was calculated for each city. The cities were sorted to first show the places with the largest influx of population. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 10, 2024.