Single? This Is How Much You Have To Earn To Live Comfortably (2024)

FAQs

Single? This Is How Much You Have To Earn To Live Comfortably? ›

The national median for living comfortably alone is $89,461, which suggests that a 50/30/20 budget might not be practical for most single people.

An individual needs $96,500, on average, to live comfortably in a major U.S. city. That figure is even higher for families, who need to earn an average combined income of about $235,000 to support two adults and two children.

While people have different qualifications and different ideas of what constitutes a good salary, most would consider $75,000 per year to be good pay. Luckily, whether a person is just starting out in a new role or already has some experience, there are indeed many opportunities in this pay range.

SmartAsset says a single working adult must earn at least $114,000, or about $55 an hour, to support themselves in the Golden State. When it comes to a basic “living wage,” MIT says a single adult in California needs to earn $27.32 per hour or $56,800 per year.

Living on $1,000 per month is a challenge. From the high costs of housing, transportation and food, plus trying to keep your bills to a minimum, it would be difficult for anyone living alone to make this work. But with some creativity, roommates and strategy, you might be able to pull it off.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year. Average weekly earnings reached $1,142, while the average American made $4,949 per month in Q4 of 2023.

How much is $500 a week annually? ›

What is 500 a week annually? Earning $500 in weekly wages is the equivalent of earning $26,000 a year. This calculation is based on the person working 52 weeks a year; the math is 500 x 52, which equals $26,000.

An analysis of the living wage (as calculated in December 2022 and reflecting a compensation being offered to an individual in 2023), compiling geographically specific expenditure data for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, and other necessities, finds that: The living wage in the United States is ...

$30 an hour is how much a year? If you make $30 an hour, your yearly salary would be $62,400.

“The minimum wage, in almost every location in the United States does not cover a living wage,” Glasmeier said. She said even the highest minimum wage, $17 an hour, doesn't cut it. A livable wage, nationwide, would be closer to $25 an hour, according to her research.

“Clearly, $18 an hour is not a living wage for most people in California unless they're single and in a very specific part of the state,” Bahr said. “We're under no illusions about the cost of living here.” The MIT Living Wage Calculator removes any such illusions.

If you make $20 an hour, your yearly salary would be $41,600.

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.