If you seem to feel that your paycheck isn’t going very far and it’s a struggle keeping up with your daily expenses, take comfort in knowing you're certainly not alone. In fact, a new report by GoBankingRates.com finds that of the 50 biggest cities in the U.S., only 11 have a median income above what is needed to live comfortably, and that’s a drop from 15 last year.
The site based their numbers on the 50-30-20 budgeting rule, which means 50% of a person’s income is spent on necessities, 30% is for discretionary expenses and 20% should be put towards savings.
Overall, Texas seems to be the state where folks are doing the best, boasting the most cities (five out of seven on the list) in which folks make enough money to live comfortably. On the flipside, California seems to be the worst, with all nine cites on the list having median incomes below what folks need to live comfortably.
Five Cities Where People Can Easily Afford to Live Comfortably
- Virginia Beach, VA - $13,985 surplus income
- Arlington, TX - $6,906 surplus income
- Colorado Springs, CO - $5,112 surplus income
- Albuquerque, NM - $4,585 surplus income
- Austin, TX - $3,058 surplus income
And on the completely different end of the spectrum...
Five Cities Where People Struggle to Live Comfortably
- Miami, FL - $44,840 deficit income
- New York, NY - $33,073 deficit income
- San Francisco, CA - $29,063 deficit income
- Los Angeles, CA - $25,842 deficit income
- Oakland, CA - $25,820 deficit income
Source: GoBankingRates.com