a List published by GOBankingRates This is going viral because it shows how much it will cost to live in America's 50 largest cities in the 2024 economy.
The list was compiled by measuring data from the U.S. Census, Zillow, BestPlaces, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine that a “comfortable living” requires no more than 50% of your income.
This is known as the 50-30-20 rule or plan, where 50% of your income covers living expenses, 30% goes to expendables, and 20% remains in savings.
Of the eight most expensive cities in the U.S., California's largest and most populated city takes a whopping 6th place on the list.
The least expensive cities on GOBankingRates' list require a yearly salary of just under $65,000, while the most expensive cities can cost more than $250,000 to live comfortably.
What is the largest and least expensive city to move to in 2024? Detroit, Michigan is the most economically viable city to live in, with an estimated “comfortable” salary of $64,849 and an estimated cost of living of $32,424.
Detroit also has a high rate of resident displacement, with 8,871 people moving out of the Motor City from 2021 to 2022.
The big city with the highest salary needed to live comfortably is San Jose, California, where you need a whopping $265,926 to cover an annual cost of living of $132,963.
San Francisco is not far behind in second place, with a comfortable living salary of $252,878.
Nearly 15,000 people moved out of San Francisco from 2021 to 2022, according to data provided.
Phoenix, Arizona had the most population growth, adding 18,337 residents between 2021 and 2022. The current estimated population is 1,609,456. The cost of living in the state capital is approximately $54,460 per year.
The city with the largest population decline over the same period was New York City, which lost 113,580 residents. According to GOBankingRates, you need a salary of $175,909 to live comfortably there.
In recent years, the cost of living has risen across the country, and so has the national debt.
The Inflation Control Act was passed more than two years ago during the Biden administration and is aimed at lowering the cost of living for Americans.
Vice President Kamala Harris provided the decisive tie-breaking vote in the Senate, voting in favor of the IRA. President Biden signed the bill in August 2022.
According to Investopedia, the average inflation rate in 2022 will be 8.0%, the highest level in 40 years. The average inflation rate in 2023 was 4.1%. In contrast, the average inflation rate in 2020 was 1.2%.
The U.S. Treasury estimates that the IRA will add $800 billion to the federal budget over the next 10 years.
According to , the U.S. national debt is currently about $35 trillion, up from about $26 trillion in 2020. US Treasury.
Inflation has steadily declined over the past year, with CPI at 2.5% in August 2024, but prices for household goods, housing, and energy remain higher than 2020-2021 levels.
