Here’s the Income It Takes to Live Comfortably in Each U.S. State – 2024 Study (2024)

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Here’s the Income It Takes to Live Comfortably in Each U.S. State – 2024 Study? ›

According to the report, single adults need about $88,317 to live comfortably and families of four need $200,762.

According to the report, single adults need about $88,317 to live comfortably and families of four need $200,762.

The most affordable state is Utah, where residents spend the least percentage of their income on necessities (63.3%) and have the most annual income left over ($32,732).

SmartAsset's analysis suggests the average family with two working adults raising a pair of children must make at least $190,112 per year to live comfortably in Kentucky. Overall, that also gives the commonwealth the fifth-cheapest figure, placing it between South Dakota ($192,608 per year) and Louisiana ($189,613).

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.

A widely used federal guideline defines low income as $14,580 annually for one person and $30,000 for a family of four.

Avoid Debt

It's quite possible to live well on $30,000 per year if you're debt-free, but what if you have debt? I would recommend trying to pay it off as quickly as possible with the debt snowball approach. Cut your expenses as much as you can and put the amount you save toward debt each month.

If you make $300,000 a year living in the region of North Carolina, USA, you will be taxed $103,206. That means that your net pay will be $196,795 per year, or $16,400 per month.

What is the hardest state to live in financially? ›

1. Hawaii: The Worst State Financially for Families. Although Hawaii is known for beautiful beaches, it isn't known for being affordable.

According to several studies on cost of living, Hawaii is the most expensive U.S. state to live in. Prices are typically double in Hawaii compared to those on the mainland, and the continued rise in inflation is making costs ranging from housing to health care much more expensive.

As of May 23, 2024, the average hourly pay for a Hourly in Kentucky is $21.72 an hour. While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $36.75 and as low as $14.82, the majority of Hourly salaries currently range between $21.73 (25th percentile) to $24.23 (75th percentile) in Kentucky.

If you make $75,000 a year, you're earning more than half of all workers in the U.S. And in fact, many people would probably consider the salary as good pay. After all, a $75,000 salary works out to around $6,250 per month, $1,442.31 per week, or $36.06 an hour.

An individual needs $96,500, on average, to live comfortably in a major U.S. city. That figure is even higher for families, who need to earn an average combined income of about $235,000 to support two adults and two children.

An analysis of the living wage (as calculated in December 2022 and reflecting a compensation being offered to an individual in 2023), compiling geographically specific expenditure data for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, and other necessities, finds that: The living wage in the United States is ...

But the state where workers earn the highest median annual wage is actually Massachusetts, where the median income as of 2023 is about $60,690, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers in the District of Columbia have a higher annual median wage at $84,450, but Massachusetts is the highest-earning state.