This is how much single people in California need to earn to ‘live comfortably’

Iman Palm
·2 min read
18

California isn’t known for its affordability. It can be challenging for a two-income household to keep up with the high cost of living expenses and even more difficult for a single person.

But just how much does a single person in California need to make to live comfortably? A new study from Smart Asset determined that a person must make at least $ 89,190 to get by comfortably.

Here’s the breakdown.

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Using data from the latest MIT Living Wage Calculator and the 50/30/20 budgeting method, Smart Asset calculated the pre-tax salary a single person without kids would need to earn to “live comfortably” in 99 of the largest cities in the U.S., including those in California.

The 50/30/20 budgeting method separates one’s budget into three categories: basic living expenses, discretionary spending, and saving or paying off debt.

The budgeting method calls for 50% of the salary to be used to pay for basic living expenses, such as rent and bills, 30% for personal spending, and 20% to be put into a savings account or used to pay down debt.

The data used in the study analyzed the cost of living in each city as of 2024.

In some California cities, like Bakersfield and Fresno, a single person would need to make at least $89,190 to “live comfortably,” the data shows.

However, the salary requirement is higher in cities like Sacramento, Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego. To live comfortably, people in these areas should make over $104,000.

The study found that 7 of the 10 cities with the highest salaries needed to live comfortably are in California.

  1. New York City: $138,570

  2. San Jose, California: $136,739

  3. Irvine, California: $126,797

  4. Santa Ana, California: $126,797

  5. Boston: $124,966

  6. San Diego: $122,803

  7. Chula Vista, California: $122,803

  8. San Francisco: $119,558

  9. Seattle: $119,392

  10. Oakland, California: $118,768

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In contrast, according to Smart Asset, people in Houston, Tulsa, and Cleveland needed to make between $75,000 and $82,000 pre-tax to afford a comfortable life.

These are the top 10 cities with the lowest salary requirement to live comfortably.

  1. Houston, Texas: $75,088

  2. El Paso, Texas: $75,254

  3. Lubbock, Texas: $75,379

  4. Toledo, Ohio: $77,501

  5. Laredo, Texas: $78,458

  6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $79,664

  7. Lexington, Kentucky: $79,997

  8. Tulsa, Oklahoma: $81,078

  9. Wichita, Kansas: $81,203

  10. Cleveland, Ohio: $81,786

Researchers found that, on average, single adults living in 99 of the largest metro areas in the U.S. need to make $96,500 to sustain comfortable living.

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