The Living Wage a Family of Four Needs in 50 Major Cities

Cost of living continues to increase, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have created market havoc and urban rent prices can more often than not seem stratospheric — all of which are reasons the baseline living wage needed for families to survive is such an important thing to know.

Such information is especially important in America’s largest 50 cities, where the cost of living is typically much higher than the rest of the United States.

With that in mind, GOBankingRates set out to determine the living wage — that is, the minimum income needed for basic survival and amenities — required for a family of four in America’s 50 biggest cities. GOBankingRates did this by culling information from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey and the Federal Reserve Economic Data.

Check out the living wage required in 50 major cities. Also see what it is in every state overall.

• Median household income: $141,565
• Living wage: $135,604

• Median household income: $141,446
• Living wage: $122,849

• Median household income: $104,321
• Living wage: $105,204

• Median household income: $80,366
• Living wage: $97,110

• Median household income: $121,984
• Living wage: $93,755

• Median household income: $79,713
• Living wage: $91,888

• Median household income: $83,969
• Living wage: $88,410

• Median household income: $94,755
• Living wage: $85,066

• Median household income: $97,369
• Living wage: $80,277

• Median household income: $106,287
• Living wage: $79,455

• Median household income: $59,390
• Living wage: $74,483

• Median household income: $91,681
• Living wage: $67,203

• Median household income: $88,792
• Living wage: $65,170

• Median household income: $91,461
• Living wage: $62,812

• Median household income: $70,723
• Living wage: $58,301

• Median household income: $81,938
• Living wage: $57,216

• Median household income: $83,753
• Living wage: $57,027

• Median household income: $75,197
• Living wage: $55,919

• Median household income: $83,198
• Living wage: $55,733

• Median household income: $82,424
• Living wage: $55,085

• Median household income: $90,685
• Living wage: $54,692

• Median household income: $77,041
• Living wage: $54,584

• Median household income: $78,779
• Living wage: $54,416

• Median household income: $78,438
• Living wage: $52,687

• Median household income: $77,397
• Living wage: $51,281

• Median household income: $73,519
• Living wage: $49,827

• Median household income: $68,804
• Living wage: $49,384

• Median household income: $75,134
• Living wage: $48,231

• Median household income: $80,269
• Living wage: $48,228

• Median household income: $67,760
• Living wage: $47,589

• Median household income: $65,604
• Living wage: $46,039

• Median household income: $66,981
• Living wage: $45,949

• Median household income: $54,546
• Living wage: $45,814

• Median household income: $72,708
• Living wage: $44,244

• Median household income: $76,602
• Living wage: $43,383

• Median household income: $60,698
• Living wage: $43,200

• Median household income: $62,894
• Living wage: $42,540

• Median household income: $58,734
• Living wage: $42,136

• Median household income: $65,327
• Living wage: $41,696

• Median household income: $64,731
• Living wage: $41,542

• Median household income: $67,449
• Living wage: $40,614

• Median household income: $62,917
• Living wage: $39,476

• Median household income: $62,995
• Living wage: $39,262

• Median household income: $51,888
• Living wage: $38,684

• Median household income: $59,623
• Living wage: $38,392

• Median household income: $66,702
• Living wage: $38,391

• Median household income: $58,407
• Living wage: $38,237

• Median household income: $63,072
• Living wage: $37,395

• Median household income: $51,211
• Living wage: $33,563

• Median household income: $39,575
• Living wage: $32,653

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates found the “living wage” needed for a family of four to live in the largest 50 cities by population. The “living wage” was defined as the cost of living. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the Federal Reserve Economic Data. All data was collected on and is up to date as of April 9, 2025.