According to a recent SmartAsset analysis, to live “comfortably” as a single in 99 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, you need an average income of $93,933.
“Comfortable” is defined as the income needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget, meaning that 50% of monthly income can cover necessities such as housing and utilities, 30% can cover discretionary expenses, and 20% can be reserved for savings or investments.
SmartAsset has extrapolated the income needed for a 50/30/20 budget based on the cost of needs, using data from the MIT Salary Calculator.
In any case, those who live alone pay a significant “singles tax” in big cities in terms of food, accommodation and transportation.Getty Images
This is the income a single person needs to live comfortably in the 25 American cities with the highest cost of living:
New York:
$138,570.
San Jose, California:
$136,739.
Irvine, California:
$126,797.
Santa Ana, California:
$126,797.
Boston:
$124,966.
San Diego:
$122,803.
Chula Vista, California:
$122,803.
San Francisco:
$119,558.
Seattle:
$119,392.
Oakland, California:
$118,768.
Arlington, Virginia:
$117,686.
Newark, New Jersey:
$116,646.
Jersey City, New Jersey:
$116,646.
Long Beach, California:
$114,691.
Anaheim, California:
$114,691.
Honolulu:
$111,904.
Los Angeles:
$110,781.
Aurora, Colorado:
$110,115.
Portland, Oregon:
$110,032.
Riverside, California:
$109,408.
Atlanta:
$107,453.
Sacramento, California:
$104,790.
Raleigh, North Carolina:
$102,752.
Gilbert, Arizona:
$102,752.
Glendale, Arizona:
$102,752.
New York City comes in first, with an income of $138,570 for a single person to live comfortably.
By contrast, singles in Houston need to earn $75,088, the lowest amount of all the large American cities studied.
Other large coastal cities follow New York in the ranking.
In Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston,
it takes $110,000 or more to live comfortably as a single
.
All of these cities have some of the highest costs of living in the country, especially when it comes to housing, according to the Economic and Community Research Council.
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Californians, in particular, have long suffered from a housing shortage that is worse than the United States as a whole, so it's no surprise that 11 cities in the state are among the most expensive places to live, requiring higher salaries to be there comfortably.
While companies in high-cost big cities tend to offer above-average salaries as a way to attract and retain talent, housing costs can make it difficult to maintain a 50/30/20 budget.
In New York,
one-third of residents spend half of their income on rent
, according to the Community Service Society.
To offset high housing costs, residents often look for room in other parts of their budget, either by giving up home ownership or by spending less on discretionary purchases.
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In any case, those who live alone pay a significant “singles tax” in big cities in terms of food, accommodation and transportation.