ST. LOUIS – It may be easier to stretch one salary in St. Louis compared to other major U.S. cities, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily cheap.
SmartAsset, a consumer-focused financial information and advice website, published a study earlier this week in order to determine the “salary needed to live comfortably” in many major U.S. cities this year.
According to SmartAsset, a single person needs to make an hourly wage of $42.96 or an annual pre-tax salary of $89,357 to truly “live comfortably” in St. Louis.
The study took cost-of-living data in mind for nearly 100 major U.S. cities considered the 50/30/20 budget concept, which suggests…
50% of the salary should be used for needs (housing, groceries and transportation)
30% goes toward wants (entertainment and hobbies)
20% goes toward paying off debt, saving or investing.
According to the study, nationally, the average individual needs $96,500 for sustainable comfort in major cities. St. Louis falls below that national average, but ranks 36th out of 100 U.S. cities in optimal salaries.
Keep in mind, the figures above are what’s needed if you are single and aren’t raising children. The study suggested that two working adults working to support two children on individual salaries need to make a combined $231,379 per year for them and their children to live comfortably.
SmartAsset considers Houston, Texas as the easiest place to live single and comfortably. There, it would take an hourly wage of $36.10 or a pre-tax salary of $75,088, according to the study.
