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Here's how much you need to make to 'live comfortably' in these Florida cities: study

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  March 10, 2023 1:01pm EST
Orlando
FOX 35 Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - As the cost of living keeps going up and up, a new study shows the salary that you need to make in order to live comfortably in 25 of the largest metro areas in the U.S. – including Orlando.

SmartAsset used data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to gather the basic cost of living for an individual with no children in each metro area. The data covers the cost of living in each city as of 2022.

The online tool calculates the cost of living by adding the average cost of housing, food, transportation, medical care and other expenses within each metro area.

"To determine how much money is needed to live comfortably in the largest metro areas, we used the 50/30/20 rule to define a comfortable lifestyle," SmartAsset said. "This rule is a budgeting strategy that allocates 50% of after-tax income to basic living expenses (needs), 30% to discretionary spending (wants) and 20% for savings or debt payments."

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The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area made the top 10 list of cities that require the highest salaries. The study said that in order to live comfortably in those cities, a person must make $67,740 post-tax annually. The 50/30/20 budget rule for the area was broken down like this: 

  • Needs: $33,870
  • Wants: $20,322
  • Savings: $13,548

Here are the salaries needed for the top 10 metro areas, according to SmartAsset:

  • San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA: $84,026
  • San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: $79,324
  • Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: $78,752
  • New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA: $78,524
  • Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $77,634
  • Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: $76,710
  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: $76,194
  • Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: $74,086
  • Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO: $70,892
  • Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: $67,740

If you're looking to move to a city that requires less money, the study says you can live comfortably in the greater St. Louis area with an after-tax income of $57,446 – the least amount of money in all 25 metro areas.