The Income Needed for a Comfortable Lifestyle in Every U.S. State
Outside of major cities, many Americans find life to be more affordable. However, years of high inflation have increased costs for almost everyone. To maintain a comfortable lifestyle, the 50/30/20 budget rule suggests spending about 50% of your income on necessities like food and housing, 30% on wants, and saving or paying off debt with the remaining 20%.
With this in mind, SmartAsset applied the 50/30/20 budget rule to cost of living data in each U.S. state to determine how much income a single adult needs to live comfortably, as well as for two working adults raising two children.
The map of the United States below, created by VisualCapitalist, illustrates the income necessary for two working adults with two children to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in each state.
