CostByState

The Salary You Need to Live Comfortably in Each State (2026)

We ran the cost of living in 10 states through the tax code to find the gross salary a single adult needs for a comfortable life.

By Michael Dang, CostByState Research Team · 2026-07-08

"How much do I need to earn to live comfortably?" has a different answer in every state. We took the typical monthly cost of living for a single adult in each of our 10 launch states, scaled it to a comfortable — not frugal, not lavish — standard, and ran it backwards through the 2026 federal and state tax code to find the gross salary that actually covers it after taxes.

California tops the list at $69,407, while Mississippi is the most attainable at $42,740 — a gap of about $26,667 for the same standard of living, driven by housing costs and state income tax.

#StateComfortable salaryMonthly costState income tax
1 California $69,407 $4,611 1.0%–13.3%
2 Hawaii $64,582 $4,240 1.4%–11.0%
3 New Jersey $64,476 $4,331 1.4%–10.8%
4 Maryland $63,498 $4,061 2.0%–6.5%
5 New York $62,851 $4,157 3.9%–10.9%
6 Massachusetts $62,731 $4,139 5.0%–9.0%
7 Colorado $60,834 $4,091 4.40% flat
8 Oregon $60,404 $3,890 4.8%–9.9%
9 Washington $59,714 $4,180 No income tax
10 Connecticut $59,508 $3,956 2.0%–7.0%
11 Florida $57,384 $4,024 No income tax
12 Virginia $57,329 $3,809 2.0%–5.8%
13 New Hampshire $56,294 $3,951 No income tax
14 Utah $56,061 $3,767 4.45% flat
15 Delaware $55,702 $3,701 0.0%–6.6%
16 Rhode Island $55,655 $3,784 3.8%–6.0%
17 Illinois $55,075 $3,654 4.95% flat
18 Arizona $54,975 $3,781 2.50% flat
19 Nevada $54,890 $3,857 No income tax
20 Minnesota $53,356 $3,576 5.3%–9.8%
21 Alaska $52,560 $3,701 No income tax
22 Georgia $51,671 $3,489 4.99% flat
23 Idaho $51,336 $3,498 0.0%–5.3%
24 Pennsylvania $50,999 $3,466 3.07% flat
25 Texas $50,977 $3,595 No income tax
26 Vermont $50,921 $3,484 3.4%–8.8%
27 Maine $50,548 $3,388 5.8%–7.1%
28 Michigan $50,441 $3,401 4.25% flat
29 Montana $50,241 $3,412 4.7%–5.7%
30 North Carolina $49,313 $3,362 3.99% flat
31 Wisconsin $48,861 $3,322 3.5%–7.6%
32 South Carolina $48,384 $3,347 2.0%–5.2%
33 Indiana $47,533 $3,250 2.95% flat
34 New Mexico $47,065 $3,245 1.5%–5.9%
35 Tennessee $46,452 $3,292 No income tax
36 Nebraska $46,434 $3,187 2.5%–4.5%
37 Kansas $46,297 $3,133 5.2%–5.6%
38 Ohio $45,969 $3,214 2.75% flat
39 Missouri $45,932 $3,155 0.0%–4.7%
40 Wyoming $45,391 $3,221 No income tax
41 Kentucky $45,264 $3,090 3.50% flat
42 Alabama $45,163 $3,051 2.0%–5.0%
43 Oklahoma $44,292 $3,023 0.0%–4.5%
44 North Dakota $43,988 $3,127 0.0%–2.5%
45 Iowa $43,898 $3,033 3.80% flat
46 Louisiana $43,704 $3,030 3.00% flat
47 South Dakota $43,241 $3,077 No income tax
48 West Virginia $43,171 $2,976 2.1%–4.6%
49 Arkansas $42,757 $2,951 0.0%–3.7%
50 Mississippi $42,740 $2,962 0.0%–4.0%

What drives the differences

Two forces move these numbers. The first is cost of living, dominated by housing — the priciest states here need a bigger paycheck simply because rent and home costs are higher. The second is state income tax: a comfortable budget in a no-income-tax state grosses up to a smaller salary than the same budget in a state with graduated brackets, because less of each dollar is lost to tax on the way to your bank account.

Want the figure for your household rather than a single adult? Every state's salary-needed calculator lets you set adults, children, and lifestyle to get a personalized number.

Methodology

Comfortable monthly costs come from a national household budget scaled by each state's regional price parity; the gross salary is solved through the same tax engine behind our paycheck calculator, assuming a single filer and the standard deduction. See our methodology for sources and formulas.

Figures are computed from CostByState's cited data (see methodology) and updated monthly. For educational purposes only, not financial advice.