$300,000 Salary to Live in Boston Comfortably? Yeesh.
Boston is expensive. Yes it’s true, it’s very true. But does it really take $300,000 in salary to live in Boston comfortably? A new study says yes… but there’s a little more to it than just that. Let’s dive in.
The report from SmartAsset (awesome name, huh? lol) looked at 99 of America’s largest cities. SmartAsset (I just wanted to type that name again) says they attained their salary numbers by following a “50/30/20” budget. That method allocates 50% of pre-tax take-home pay for needs like housing, health insurance, transportation and groceries, 30% for wants like vacation and dining out, and 20% set aside for savings and paying debt.
The data shows that in order to comfortably live in Boston, a family of four – two adults and two children – would need to make a $319,738 combined salary. This makes Boston one of only six cities where families need to make over $300,000 salary to live in Boston comfortably and raise kids. The other 5 cities are San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Arlington, Virginia; New York, New York and Oakland, California.
What is the required salary to live in Boston comfortably for a single person?
Great question. The study shows that a single person would have to make a $124,966 salary to live in Boston comfortably. When I was a kid it was always my goal to be rich and make $100,000 a year. That number has honestly stuck in my head my whole life. Well now you can make a nice $100,000 salary…. just to struggle to survive in Boston!
If you’re wondering which city is the most affordable, the report points to Houston, Texas. To live comfortably in Houston a single person needs to make just over $75,000 a year.
Nowhere in Massachusetts is what I’d call “cheap” or even “really affordable” BUT… you can save some money by moving out to the suburbs. And if you have kids (or are looking at having some in the future) settling in a town with a great school district might be very important to you. If so, I present to you the following data: