$138K TO LIVE SOLO
NYC worst for singles
If you’re single and loaded, you can make it here.
New York City recently took the top spot out of 25 major US cities as the most expensive for a single person to live comfortably.
A new analysis showed that a single person living in the Big Apple would need to make $138,570 to cover a typical 50-30-20 budget, according to SmartAsset’s report on Tuesday.
The standard budget breakdown covers 50% of a person’s necessities, 30% for desired spending such as entertainment and 20% toward savings or investments.
In New York City a single person would need to make an estimated $70,000 to cover their necessities alone, according to the analysis.
Single-living people in other parts of the country like Houston would only need to make $75,088 if they want to live comfortably — a whopping $63,482 difference to someone in New York.
In February, New York City was also named the priciest pizza city. Residents are forced to pay over $33.65 for a one-topping pie on average.
Many of California’s most well-known cities followed closely behind NYC on the single spending analysis.
San Jose, where an individual has to make around $136,739 to live comfortably, was number 2 — while Irvine, Calif., rounded out the top three at $126,797.
Other California chart-toppers were Santa Ana (4), San Diego (6), Chula Vista (7), San Francisco (8), Oakland (10), Long Beach (14), Anaheim (15) and Riverside (20).
Housing shortages served as a major factor. San Francisco’s single-family home and condo prices hit $1.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in December 2023.
Stuck renting
Meanwhile, a third of residents in New York have to set aside over half of their income for rent, Community Service Society reported.
Most New Yorkers are taking the rental route instead of home-owning, and the report showed three-quarters of rent-regulated tenants were people of color.
Nationwide, a person would need to make $96,500 for comfortable solo living in any major city.
Financial planners normally recommend workers do not spend more than 30% of their pre-tax income on housing, according to according to CNBC.