10 Big Cities Where It Takes a Salary of Less Than $80K To Live Comfortably
Written by
J. David Herman
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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Living in a big city isn’t just for the super-rich. There are at least 10 U.S. cities with populations over 396,000 where you can live comfortably on a salary of less than $80,000 a year. For some perspective, living comfortably in San Jose, California, requires more like $266,000 a year.
The definition of “comfortably” varies, of course. For the purposes of this story, GOBankingRates defines living comfortably by making twice the total annual cost of living.
GOBankingRates has compiled a list of large U.S. cities (population 396,000 and up) that fall below $80,000 for the comfortable living bar. We’ve done this by analyzing data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Sperlings Best Places, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. We’ve also applied the 50/30/20 financial rule, which calls for 50% of your after-tax income to go to needs, 30% to go to wants, and 20% to go to savings and debt repayment.
Our list of cities includes three in the South Central U.S., three in the Midwest, two in the Upper Midwest, and one in each of the country’s Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. We’ve also included livability scores from AreaVibes which range from a low of 68 to a high of 81 (on a scale of 100) for qualifying cities.
Here’s a list of big cities where you can live comfortably on $80,000, in reverse order from most expensive to least expensive.
10. Kansas City, Missouri
Population: 505,958
Livability: 78
Household median income: $65,256
Total cost of living (annual): $39,622
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $79,244
9. Indianapolis
Population: 882,006
Livability: 76
Household median income: $59,110
Total cost of living (annual): $38,490
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $76,979
8. Milwaukee
Population: 573,299
Livability: 79
Household median income: $49,733
Total cost of living (annual): $37,763
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $75,526
7. Baltimore
Population: 584,548
Livability: 77
Household median income: $58,349
Total cost of living (annual): $37,762
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $75,524
6. El Paso, Texas
Population: 677,181
Livability: 81
Household median income: $55,710
Total cost of living (annual): $37,653
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $75,307
5. Oklahoma City
Population: 681,088
Livability: 81
Household median income: $64,251
Total cost of living (annual): $37,605
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $75,211
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma
Population: 411,938
Livability: 75
Household median income: $56,648
Total cost of living (annual): $37,257
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $74,513
3. Wichita, Kansas
Population: 395,951
Livability: 68
Household median income: $60,712
Total cost of living (annual): $36,604
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $73,207
2. Memphis, Tennessee
Population: 630,027
Livability: 70
Household median income: $48,090
Total cost of living (annual): $33,000
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $66,000
1. Detroit
Population: 636,787
Livability: 73
Household median income: $37,761
Total cost of living (annual): $32,424
Annual salary needed to live comfortably: $64,849
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the 50 largest U.S. cities by population to find the salary needed to afford to live in each. GOBankingRates sourced the top 50 cities by population using the U.S. Census American Community Survey. This survey was also used to source 2022 total population, 2022 total households, and 2022 household median income. These include the two most recent years of data released by the US Census. Cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. Using the national average expenditure costs for all residents as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure costs were calculated. Using the mortgage and expenditure costs, the cost of living was calculated for each city. Using the 50/30/20 rule that states that needs should not exceed 50% of income, the household income to live comfortably can be calculated for each city. All data is up to date as of September 10, 2024.
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