Planning a relocation to the United States? A new study examined how much you would need to earn each year to live comfortably in every state. Nearly half of U.S. states now require an annual salary of more than $100,000 (about 300,000 shekels) for a single adult to live “comfortably,” according to an analysis by fintech company SmartAsset.
The minimum threshold for a single adult to live comfortably is an annual salary of $80,000 (240,000 shekels). The definition is based on the following budgeting rule: 50% of income for basic needs, 30% for discretionary spending and 20% for savings, using data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator.
Massachusetts tops the list of the most expensive states for families: A household with two working adults and two children would need $329,555 a year (about 1 million shekels), while a single adult would need to earn $127,213 (380,000 shekels) annually. Hawaii is the only state that is more expensive for a single adult, at $129,002. Within Massachusetts itself, Boston stands out as even more costly: A single adult in the city would need $140,000 a year, while a family of four would need $337,875.
California is the only other state, alongside Massachusetts and Hawaii, where a family of four would need more than $300,000 a year. In most states, the threshold is more than $200,000.
And where is it cheapest to live?
At the other end of the spectrum, Southern and Midwestern states present a very different picture. Mississippi is the cheapest state for families, which would need an annual income of $187,533 (560,000 shekels), while West Virginia is the cheapest for individuals, at $81,000.
One notable measure highlighted by the study is “affordability,” which reflects the gap between the income required to live comfortably and average wages. In Indiana, for example, a single adult would need $90,646 and a family would need $241,696, yet the state ranks 33rd in affordability because its average salary is $58,800 and its median household income is $71,957.
In only six states — Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas — the income required to live comfortably has fallen since 2025.