It can seem hard to find somewhere you can live comfortably. We've found 19 cities where you can live comfortably on less that $50,000 a year.
To live comfortably means you can live by the 50-30-20 plan – spend 50% of your income on necessities, 30% on discretionary items, and 20% in savings. Because the cost of living and wages vary from city to city, you may be able to achieve this budget with ease in some places, while in others it's a much harder task.
Recently, Business Insider filtered through GOBankingRates' data on the 50 most populous US cities to find where you could live comfortably on a salary of $50,000 a year or less. The income needed for each city was deterring by monthly expenses – housing, groceries, utilities, transportation and health insurance – for a single person. That number was doubled to arrive at the recommended income for each city.
Below are the 19 cities where you live comfortably on a salary of $50k or less a year!
Newark, New Jersey
Income Needed: $49,580
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Income Needed: $49,415
Mesa, Arizona
Income Needed:$48,995
St. Louis, Missouri
Income Needed: $48,986
Louisville, Kentucky
Income Needed: $48,897
Memphis, Tennesse
Income Needed: $48,467
Las Vegas, Nevada
Income Needed: $48,111
Lexington, Kentucky
Income Needed: $47,856
Indianapolis, Indiana
Income Needed: $47,127
Arlington, Texas
Income Needed: $46,420
San Antonio, Texas
Income Needed: $46,154
Tucson, Arizona
Income Needed: $45,414
Columbus, Ohio
Income Needed: $44,852
Fresno, California
Income Needed: $44,648
Cincinnati, Ohio
Income Needed: $43,784
Wichita, Kansas
Income Needed: $43,644
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Income Needed: $42,445
Detroit, Michigan
Income Needed: $42,161
El Paso, Texas
Income Needed: $40,393
Do you live in any of these cities? Do you think their findings are accurate? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!