What it really costs to live comfortably in America’s 50 largest cities: report
The list published by GOBankingRates is the best because it shows how much it costs to live in the 50 largest American cities in the economy of 2024.
The list, compiled by averaging data from the US Census, Zillow, BestPlaces and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, defines “comfortable living” as requirements that do not exceed 50% of a person’s income.
This is known as the 50-30-20 rule or system, where 50% of a person’s income meets living expenses, 30% is disposable, and 20% is left for savings.
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Of the top eight most expensive cities in the US, California’s largest population hubs take the top six spots on the list.
The least expensive city on the GOBankingRates list requires an income of just under $65,000 a year, and the most expensive ones even more than $250,000 to live comfortably.
Biggest and cheapest city to move to in 2024? Detroit, Michigan is a financially friendly city to live in with an average “comfortable” salary of $64,849 and an average cost of living of $32,424.
Detroit also has the highest number of residents leaving, with 8,871 leaving the city between 2021 and 2022.
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The largest city with the highest income needed to live comfortably is San Jose, California with a median income of $265,926 needed to cover living expenses of $132,963 per year. San Francisco is not far behind in second place, at $252,878 which is the income needed to live comfortably.
About 15,000 people leave San Francisco between 2021 and 2022, according to the data provided.
Phoenix, Arizona experienced the largest population growth, gaining 18,337 residents between 2021 and 2022. Their estimated number is now 1,609,456. The cost of living in the nation’s capital is around $54,460 per year.
The city with the highest population loss during the same period was New York City, which lost 113,580 residents. The salary needed to live there comfortably according to GOBankingRates is $175,909.
The cost of living has risen across the country in the past few years, and so has the national debt. The Anti-Inflation Act, passed a little more than two years ago during the Biden administration, is aimed at reducing the cost of living for Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the decisive vote in the Senate in favor of the IRA. President Biden signed it into law in August 2022.
Inflation has fallen in 2022 to 8.0%, according to Investopedia, a 40-year high. In 2023, the inflation rate was 4.1%. In contrast, in fiscal year 2020, the inflation rate was 1.2%.
The US Treasury Department estimates that the IRA will add $800 billion to the federal budget over the next 10 years. The US national debt currently stands at about $35 trillion, up from about $26 trillion in 2020, according to the US Treasury.
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Inflation has moderated over the past year, with the August 2024 CPI estimated at 2.5%, but prices for household goods, housing, and energy remain higher than 2020-2021 levels.
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