SmartAsset has recently released its 2024 study on how much Americans need to make to live “comfortably” in each state.
To figure out what that looks like, SmartAsset used the “50/30/20″ budget rule — one that recommends residents put 50% of income toward needs like food and housing, 30% on wants, and the remaining 20% toward savings or debt.
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If someone wants to follow that rule, how much income do they have to earn each year?
While that figure varies from place to place, the most expensive state on SmartAsset’s list is Massachusetts. To live “comfortably” there as a single adult, you’d need to make over $116,000 annually (roughly $56 per hour).
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Of course, that figure raises even higher for households with two working adults and two children. Those families must instead earn around $301,000 per year.
Fortunately, the Sunshine State falls much lower in the ranking:
- Salary needed for a single working adult: $93,309 ($46.52 hourly) — No. 22
- Income for two working adults raising two children: $209,082 — No. 33
These figures may come as a shock to some Florida residents, as the state has suffered from massive inflation thanks to huge swaths of people — both domestic and foreign — moving to the state.
This caused the cost of living to outpace wage growth, though productivity in the state is expected to boom over the next few years as a result.
Regardless, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that median earnings for a single adult in Florida only $62,973. For a family of four, that rises to a mere $104,069 — still falling short of the numbers posted by SmartAsset.
The full state-by-state breakdown is as follows:
| Rank (Single / Family) | State | Income for Single Working Adult | Median Income (Single Adult) | Income for 2 Adults, 2 Children | Median Income (Family of Four) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $116,022 | $81,170 | $301,184 | $161,149 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $113,693 | $78,745 | $294,611 | $133,656 |
| 3 / 5 | California | $113,651 | $74,819 | $276,723 | $128,533 |
| 4 | New York | $111,738 | $69,135 | $278,970 | $131,389 |
| 5 / 7 | Washington | $106,496 | $86,558 | $257,421 | $139,667 |
| 6 | Colorado | $103,293 | $77,331 | $264,992 | $135,820 |
| 7 / 9 | New Jersey | $103,002 | $83,102 | $251,181 | $157,404 |
| 8 / 15 | Maryland | $102,918 | $81,293 | $239, 450 | $151,138 |
| 9 / 8 | Oregon | $101,088 | $70,266 | $257,338 | $119,432 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $100,838 | $72,515 | $249,267 | $138,933 |
| 11 / 3 | Connecticut | $100,381 | $81,285 | $279,885 | $149,181 |
| 12 / 17 | Virginia | $99,965 | $75,756 | $235,206 | $116,903 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $98,093 | $84,017 | $244,109 | $153,749 |
| 14 / 19 | Arizona | $97,344 | $66,340 | $230,630 | $107,944 |
| 15 / 27 | Georgia | $96,886 | $62,468 | $212,826 | $112,675 |
| 16 / 14 | Alaska | $96,762 | $82,512 | $242,611 | $131,159 |
| 17 / 11 | Vermont | $95,763 | $65,712 | $248,352 | $132,356 |
| 18 | Illinois | $95,098 | $66,950 | $231,962 | $125,022 |
| 19 / 22 | Delaware | $94,141 | $75,674 | $228,966 | $128,053 |
| 20 / 24 | Utah | $93,683 | $78,917 | $218,483 | $120,187 |
| 21 / 16 | Nevada | $93,434 | $64,412 | $237,286 | $99,819 |
| 22 / 33 | Florida | $93,309 | $62,973 | $209,082 | $104,069 |
| 23 / 21 | Maine | $91,686 | $66,369 | $229,549 | $114,591 |
| 24 / 20 | Pennsylvania | $91,312 | $66,923 | $230,464 | $125,861 |
| 25 / 31 | North Carolina | $89,690 | $61,811 | $209,331 | $109,590 |
| 26 / 12 | Minnesota | $89,232 | $72,319 | $244,774 | $141,903 |
| 27 / 30 | Idaho | $88,733 | $68,781 | $211,245 | $106,407 |
| 28 / 40 | South Carolina | $88,317 | $59,661 | $200,762 | $102,244 |
| 29 / 36 | Wyoming | $87,651 | $61,866 | $203,424 | $113,060 |
| 30 / 39 | Texas | $87,027 | $61,460 | $201,344 | $108,866 |
| 31 / 42 | Tennessee | $86,403 | $59,052 | $195,770 | $99,689 |
| 32 / 34 | Indiana | $85,030 | $60,351 | $206,003 | $105,581 |
| 33 / 28 | Montana | $84,739 | $65,242 | $211,411 | $111,516 |
| 34 / 41 | Kansas | $84,656 | $64,518 | $196,768 | $111,192 |
| 35 / 25 | Michigan | $84,365 | $64,579 | $214,490 | $114,456 |
| 36 / 23 | Wisconsin | $84,115 | $66,106 | $225,056 | $122,571 |
| 37 | Missouri | $84,032 | $59,605 | $202,259 | $105,914 |
| 38 / 44 | Alabama | $83,824 | $59,605 | $193,606 | $94,373 |
| 39 / 26 | Nebraska | $83,699 | $63,813 | $213,075 | $121,455 |
| 40 / 35 | New Mexico | $83,616 | $56,766 | $203,923 | $83,592 |
| 41 / 28 | Iowa | $83,366 | $61,283 | $211,411 | $120,308 |
| 42 / 50 | Mississippi | $82,742 | $51,554 | $177,798 | $84,767 |
| 43 / 47 | Louisiana | $82,451 | $53,821 | $189,613 | $97,149 |
| 44 / 45 | South Dakota | $81,453 | $63,862 | $192,608 | $113,008 |
| 45 / 46 | Kentucky | $80,704 | $57,509 | $190,112 | $102,067 |
| 45 / 31 | Ohio | $80,704 | $61,617 | $209,331 | $113,435 |
| 47 / 38 | North Dakota | $80,538 | $66,813 | $202,176 | $122,543 |
| 48 / 43 | Oklahoma | $80,413 | $55,362 | $194,106 | $91,528 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $79,456 | $54,658 | $180,794 | $90,146 |
| 50 / 48 | West Virginia | $78,790 | $57,979 | $189,363 | $90,164 |
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