The Salary Needed To Afford America’s 50 Biggest Cities

Seeking a comfortable life in a major U.S. city? You’ll need to earn a lot of money to afford it. 

A new study from GOBankingRates reveals Americans must earn at least $100,000 to live comfortably in 26 U.S. metros, amounting to more than half of the nation’s 50 largest cities.

GOBankingRates analyzed the largest 50 cities by population using data from the 2024 U.S. Census American Community Survey. Each city’s cost of living was calculated using mortgage and expenditure information. Using the 50/30/20 finance rule, the study doubled the cost of necessities to find the comfortable cost of living. The cities are sorted according to the largest salary needed to comfortably live.

• San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego are the most expensive cities for living comfortably. Each requires a salary of $200,000+ annually.
• A six-figure income is necessary to afford living comfortably in nine major California cities: San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Sacramento, Bakersfield and Fresno.
• Austin is the most expensive Texas city for living comfortably. You’d need to earn $122,875 annually, the only Texas city in the ranking with a six-figure salary needed for comfortable living.
• Detroit is the least expensive city for living comfortably. The annual salary needed is $65,733. 

Ranked from highest to lowest salary needed to cover comfortable living costs, here’s what you need to earn to afford the nation’s 50 biggest cities.

• Total population (2024): 997,395
• Average single family home value: $1,529,160
• Salary needed for necessities: $132,473
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $264,946

• Total population (2024): 827,526
• Average single family home value: $1,410,552
• Salary needed for necessities: $125,699
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $251,398

• Total population (2024): 1,404,461
• Average single family home value: $1,140,127
• Salary needed for necessities: $103,176
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $206,353

• Total population (2024): 3,878,718
• Average single family home value: $1,025,128
• Salary needed for necessities: $97,460
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $194,920

• Total population (2024): 8,478,072
• Average single family home value: $846,342
• Salary needed for necessities: $92,210
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $184,420

• Total population (2024): 450,917
• Average single family home value: $919,269
• Salary needed for necessities: $89,679
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $179,359

• Total population (2024): 780,992
• Average single family home value: $941,803
• Salary needed for necessities: $89,260
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $178,520

• Total population (2024): 673,822
• Average single family home value: $839,566
• Salary needed for necessities: $84,578
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $169,155

• Total population (2024): 443,575
• Average single family home value: $797,148
• Salary needed for necessities: $81,779
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $163,559

• Total population (2024): 702,250
• Average single family home value: $749,377
• Salary needed for necessities: $78,980
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $157,960

• Total population (2024): 487,006
• Average single family home value: $657,084
• Salary needed for necessities: $72,109
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $144,219

• Total population (2024): 729,019
• Average single family home value: $589,059
• Salary needed for necessities: $64,764
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $129,528

• Total population (2024): 636,958
• Average single family home value: $560,229
• Salary needed for necessities: $63,354
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $126,707

• Total population (2024): 993,771
• Average single family home value: $540,210
• Salary needed for necessities: $61,437
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $122,875

• Total population (2024): 535,787
• Average single family home value: $491,883
• Salary needed for necessities: $59,791
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $119,582

• Total population (2024): 678,924
• Average single family home value: $459,185
• Salary needed for necessities: $57,225
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $114,449

• Total population (2024): 520,066
• Average single family home value: $450,085
• Salary needed for necessities: $56,351
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $112,702

• Total population (2024): 704,965
• Average single family home value: $457,356
• Salary needed for necessities: $55,391
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $110,783

• Total population (2024): 517,142
• Average single family home value: $448,204
• Salary needed for necessities: $55,033
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $110,065

• Total population (2024): 493,540
• Average single family home value: $463,169
• Salary needed for necessities: $54,231
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $108,462

• Total population (2024): 454,808
• Average single family home value: $427,529
• Salary needed for necessities: $53,847
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $107,694

• Total population (2024): 499,637
• Average single family home value: $449,566
• Salary needed for necessities: $53,815
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $107,631

• Total population (2024): 1,673,122
• Average single family home value: $422,826
• Salary needed for necessities: $53,670
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $107,341

• Total population (2024): 417,461
• Average single family home value: $401,355
• Salary needed for necessities: $51,863
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $103,726

• Total population (2024): 550,091
• Average single family home value: $400,093
• Salary needed for necessities: $51,779
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $103,558

• Total population (2024): 943,474
• Average single family home value: $410,500
• Salary needed for necessities: $51,683
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $103,365

• Total population (2024): 428,572
• Average single family home value: $357,994
• Salary needed for necessities: $48,270
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $96,540

• Total population (2024): 2,721,326
• Average single family home value: $316,835
• Salary needed for necessities: $47,599
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $95,198

• Total population (2024): 1,326,093
• Average single family home value: $325,525
• Salary needed for necessities: $47,475
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $94,950

• Total population (2024): 403,657
• Average single family home value: $316,376
• Salary needed for necessities: $46,718
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $93,436

• Total population (2024): 554,011
• Average single family home value: $339,478
• Salary needed for necessities: $45,935
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $91,870

• Total population (2024): 1,014,376
• Average single family home value: $302,082
• Salary needed for necessities: $45,719
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $91,438

• Total population (2024): 560,333
• Average single family home value: $346,106
• Salary needed for necessities: $45,556
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $91,112

• Total population (2024): 1,009,831
• Average single family home value: $299,855
• Salary needed for necessities: $44,938
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $89,876

• Total population (2024): 489,263
• Average single family home value: $294,739
• Salary needed for necessities: $44,168
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $88,336

• Total population (2024): 2,387,910
• Average single family home value: $273,592
• Salary needed for necessities: $43,679
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $87,359

• Total population (2024): 1,573,916
• Average single family home value: $228,156
• Salary needed for necessities: $43,382
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $86,763

• Total population (2024): 931,551
• Average single family home value: $271,653
• Salary needed for necessities: $41,635
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $83,269

• Total population (2024): 640,793
• Average single family home value: $261,726
• Salary needed for necessities: $41,408
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $82,816

• Total population (2024): 516,045
• Average single family home value: $254,114
• Salary needed for necessities: $40,818
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $81,637

• Total population (2024): 1,526,621
• Average single family home value: $255,410
• Salary needed for necessities: $40,707
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $81,413

• Total population (2024): 563,512
• Average single family home value: $224,046
• Salary needed for necessities: $39,196
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $78,392

• Total population (2024): 890,315
• Average single family home value: $237,877
• Salary needed for necessities: $39,159
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $78,317

• Total population (2024): 681,724
• Average single family home value: $231,634
• Salary needed for necessities: $38,557
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $77,115

• Total population (2024): 413,652
• Average single family home value: $220,176
• Salary needed for necessities: $38,392
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $76,783

• Total population (2024): 713,014
• Average single family home value: $208,348
• Salary needed for necessities: $38,175
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $76,350

• Total population (2024): 568,271
• Average single family home value: $187,275
• Salary needed for necessities: $38,100
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $76,200

• Total population (2024): 400,993
• Average single family home value: $202,631
• Salary needed for necessities: $37,153
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $74,307

• Total population (2024): 610,936
• Average single family home value: $143,738
• Salary needed for necessities: $33,088
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $66,177

• Total population (2024): 645,702
• Average single family home value: $78,624
• Salary needed for necessities: $32,866
• Salary needed for comfortable living: $65,733

See more original studies and surveys in the GOBankingRates original research center.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the largest 50 cities by population, according to U.S. Census 2024 1-year American Community Survey. The cost of living for each place was sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The average single-family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index for July 2025 and the average mortgage was calculated using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.35%, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. Using the mortgage and expenditure cost, the average cost of living was calculated for each city. Using the 50/30/20 finance rule that states needs should not exceed 50% of household income, the total cost of living for necessities was doubled to find the comfortable cost of living. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 12, 2025.