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There’s an uncomfortably high income New Yorkers need in order to live comfortably, according to disconcerting new data.
The privilege of calling the Big Apple and its surrounding neighborhoods “home” doesn’t come cheap, reveals an August report, crowning New York and New Jersey in the top five most expensive states for living comfortably.
Trailing closely behind Hawaii, Massachusetts and California, the Empire State secured the fourth place position on the roster, requiring $124,342 and $291,533 as the minimum amounts singletons and families of four must earn in order to survive, respectively.
New Jersey took the fifth place slot, commanding a yearly $113,776 from its singles, and a whopping $295,110 from couples with at least two kiddos, according to the study.
“As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the US,” researchers for SmartAsset, a financial technology company, warn in the trending findings.
To determine how much dough breadwinners have to roll in just to make it in each of the 50 states, the investigators used MIT’s 2026 Living Wage Calculator. It’s a virtual tool that determines the salary a full-time worker needs to afford basic needs.
Analysts for SmartAsset then adjusted each amount using the 50/30/20 finance rule — a budgeting method that divides a net income into three categories: 50% of spending for necessities, 30% for leisure, and 20% for savings.
The resulting estimate represents the annual, pre-tax income needed to live comfortably in each state.
The high demand on residents in and around Gotham doesn’t come as an eye-popping shock amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with rents exceeding $6,600, food costs surging and local gas stations challenging customers to dance for fuel discounts. It’s all contributing evidence to the city’s recent rank as the “worst place” to be single.
In the past year, the income criteria for a solo New Yorker increased by 8.4% — the second highest uptick nationwide — while the number for unattached New Jerseyans jumped up 4.4%, per the report.
Only six states, Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas, enjoyed a decline in the minimum amount needed for an unmarried guy or gal since 2025.
