The Salary You Need to Live Comfortably in 37 U.S. Cities — 2026 Study
Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFFKey finding
To live comfortably renting alone in San Francisco, you typically need at least a $100-130k income.
Minimum comfortable income by city
St. Louis, MO Under $40k+
Pittsburgh, PA $40-60k+
Detroit, MI $40-60k+
San Antonio, TX $40-60k+
Albuquerque, NM $40-60k+
Columbus, OH $40-60k+
Kansas City, MO $40-60k+
Indianapolis, IN $40-60k+
Houston, TX $40-60k+
Jacksonville, FL $40-60k+
Minneapolis, MN $60-80k+
Salt Lake City, UT $60-80k+
Las Vegas, NV $60-80k+
Baltimore, MD $60-80k+
Philadelphia, PA $60-80k+
Charlotte, NC $60-80k+
Austin, TX $60-80k+
Nashville, TN $60-80k+
Chicago, IL $60-80k+
Phoenix, AZ $60-80k+
Raleigh, NC $60-80k+
Dallas, TX $60-80k+
Atlanta, GA $60-80k+
Portland, OR $60-80k+
Tampa, FL $60-80k+
Orlando, FL $60-80k+
Denver, CO $60-80k+
Sacramento, CA $60-80k+
Seattle, WA $60-80k+
Miami, FL $80-100k+
Washington, DC, DC $80-100k+
Los Angeles, CA $80-100k+
San Diego, CA $80-100k+
Boston, MA $80-100k+
New York City, NY $80-100k+
San Francisco, CA $100-130k+
San Jose, CA $100-130k+
Methodology
For each city, we found the lowest salary band at which renting alone reaches a "comfortable" or better breathing-room zone, iterating bands from lowest to highest.
Sources: HUD FY2026 FMR, BLS OEWS May 2025.