It’s no secret that city dwellers need to have a pretty substantial paycheck to live comfortably in NYC, and this new study proves it.
Consumer-focused financial company SmartAsset used the MIT Living Wage Calculator data (using the most recent data available) to determine the basic cost of living both for an individual with no children and for two working adults with two children. Data collected included housing, food, transportation, and income taxes.
They then applied these costs to the 50/30/20 budget for 99 of the largest US cities. This budget recommends that 50% of your salary go to basic needs (such as housing, groceries, and transportation), 30% towards wants like entertainment, and 20% toward paying off debt, saving, or investing.
According to the study a family of four needs to, on average, make at least $318,406 to live comfortably (as per the 50/30/20 budget rule) in NYC.
Considering that’s 3x the city’s median household income (which is $76,607, according to the US Census Bureau) you can see how that’s an issue.
Even worse, New York City is the worst city in the country for a single adult to live comfortably, with a required average salary of at least $138,570 a year (an hourly wage of $66.62). To cover necessities alone a single person living in NYC needs to make an estimated $70,000 in wages.
Reading studies like this makes us wonder about others we’ve come across–like how NYC was named one of the best places in the US to retire though another study found that New Yorkers need more than $1 million to retire comfortably.
On the bright side, NYC did recently rank among the best cities in the US for quality of life and it was named one of the best cities in the world for 2024.
As for the top ten cities with the lowest salaries needed to live comfortably, Texas dominated with four cities making the cut–Houston (#1), El Paso (#2), Lubbock (#3), and Laredo (#5).
Though those of us who aren’t planning on moving to Texas anytime soon can at least shed some tears on a pizza pie or bagel–because at least we have those to comfort us in NYC!
Find the full study here.