Salary Needed to Live Comfortably in 2024 (2024)

What Salary is needed to live comfortably in 2024? A new study from SmartAsset zeros in on how much it takes to maintain a comfortable lifestyle across 99 U.S. Cities. It may come as no surprise, the costs are steep as rent costs and mortgage rates both remain high.

Central to the study is the endorsem*nt of the 50/30/20 budgeting principle as a pathway to financial wellbeing. This approach advises dedicating 50% of one’s income to essential needs such as housing, groceries, and transportation. Another 30% is allocated for personal desires, including leisure activities and hobbies, with the remaining 20% earmarked for paying off debts, savings, or investments. By applying this budgeting framework and adjusting for the local cost of living and tax implications, the study offers a clear estimation of the pre-tax salary needed to live comfortably in key U.S. cities.

Salary Study

The findings are eye-opening: to lead a comfortable life in a major U.S. city, an individual needs to earn, on average, an annual pre-tax salary of $96,500. This takes into account necessities, debt obligations, and investments for the future. For families, the financial requirements are even more substantial. A household with two adults and two children would need a combined income of around $235,000 to live without financial worries.

The disparity in the cost of family life is particularly pronounced in certain cities. A family of four, two adults and children, need to make more than $300,000 to live comfortably.

• San Francisco, California
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Arlington, Virginia
• Oakland, California
• New York City

The study also casts a spotlight on the solo living scenario in New York City, where an individual needs to earn an hourly wage of $66.62, translating to an annual salary of $138,570, to live comfortably. This is significantly higher than the estimated $70,000 needed merely for essentials, highlighting the steep cost of living in the city. Click Here to view the full list of cities included in the study.

Navigating the Affordable Housing Crisis

While the study did not include the city of Birmingham, Rent Cafe data shows the average salary is $39,403. Birmingham’s average salary is below the national average and like in most areas finding affording housing is also a challenge for residents.

Navigate Affordable Housing Partners proactively works to address the affordable housing shortfall. In Birmingham’s Goldwire Heights, we’re building high quality homes – shaping a sustainable and affordable housing landscape for the future. We’ve partnered with Extreme Panel technologies to build homes using innovative SIPS technology. In fact, Structurally Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) recently recognized Navigate’s Homes for innovative, affordable design.

“Navigate is dedicated to creating high-performance affordable homes and we are excited to be recognized by the Structural Insulated Panel Association for our work.”

Matt Churnock – Navigate Director of Planning and Development

The homes boast a sustainable, energy-efficient design incorporating Structurally-Insulated Panels (SIPs). This innovative building method reduces construction costs, enhancing long-term affordability. Click Here to learn more about this building process.