This Is The Income Needed To Live 'Comfortably' In Every US State

 Individuals in the top 11 most expensive states in the U.S. need an annual income exceeding $100,000 to live comfortably.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, shows how much income single adults need to live comfortably in each U.S. state. SmartAsset calculated the income needed using the cost of necessities sourced from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, last updated on Feb. 14, 2024.

In this case, “comfortable” was defined as the annual income required to cover a 50/30/20 budget, allocating 50% of earnings to necessities such as housing and utility costs, 30% to discretionary spending, and 20% to savings or investments.

Massachusetts Ranks First

Massachusetts is the most expensive state to live comfortably in. A single adult needs to make at least $116,022 annually or $55.78 per hour.

Rank	State	Salary needed for a single working adult
1	Massachusetts	$116,022
2	Hawaii	$113,693
3	California	$113,651
4	New York	$111,738
5	Washington	$106,496
6	Colorado	$103,293
7	New Jersey	$103,002
8	Maryland	$102,918
9	Oregon	$101,088
10	Rhode Island	$100,838
11	Connecticut	$100,381
12	Virginia	$99,965
13	New Hampshire	$98,093
14	Arizona	$97,344
15	Georgia	$96,886
16	Alaska	$96,762
17	Vermont	$95,763
18	Illinois	$95,098
19	Delaware	$94,141
20	Utah	$93,683
21	Nevada	$93,434
22	Florida	$93,309
23	Maine	$91,686
24	Pennsylvania	$91,312
25	North Carolina	$89,690
26	Minnesota	$89,232
27	Idaho	$88,733
28	South Carolina	$88,317
29	Wyoming	$87,651
30	Texas	$87,027
31	Tennessee	$86,403
32	Indiana	$85,030
33	Montana	$84,739
34	Kansas	$84,656
35	Michigan	$84,365
36	Wisconsin	$84,115
37	Missouri	$84,032
38	Alabama	$83,824
39	Nebraska	$83,699
40	New Mexico	$83,616
41	Iowa	$83,366
42	Mississippi	$82,742
43	Louisiana	$82,451
44	South Dakota	$81,453
45	Ohio	$80,704
45	Kentucky	$80,704
47	North Dakota	$80,538
48	Oklahoma	$80,413
49	Arkansas	$79,456
50	West Virginia	$78,790

West Virginia is the least expensive for a single adult, who only needs to make an estimated $37.88 per hour, or $78,790 annually.

To live comfortably on your own in the top five states, a person would need to earn nearly double the typical income for single earners, as the U.S. median income for single, full-time workers is around $60,000, according to Labor Bureau data.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which ranks the income a family needs to live comfortably in every U.S. state.