How Far a 50K Salary Would Get You in 30 American Cities (2024)

FAQs

Is $50,000 a good salary in the USA? ›

Is $50k a Year Considered a Good Salary? The better question is whether $50,000 will be enough to support your desired lifestyle. And that depends on your budget and where you live. A $50,000 annual salary is above the U.S. national average salary of $48,672 but below the median household income of $68,703.

Based on that number, if you earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, you qualify as middle class. Around half of Americans fall into the middle-class category as of 2021, according to the Pew Research Center, but the numbers have been shrinking over time, down from 61% in 1971.

The most expensive and least expensive states vary by more than $66,000. In Hawaii, you need to earn $112,411 to have what GoBankingRates considers a living wage. In Mississippi, you need $45,906. In California, you need to earn $80,013, the study states.

The rule of 2.5 times your income stipulates that you shouldn't purchase a house that costs more than two and a half times your annual income. So, if you have a $50,000 annual salary, you should be able to afford a $125,000 home. Explore what your mortgage payment might be with today's rates.

If you make $23 an hour, your yearly salary would be $47,840.

Q: Can you live in NYC with 50k? A: Living in NYC on an annual income of $50,000 won't be easy, but it is possible, and it will definitely require some clever budgeting.

Where you rank by income. According to the Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2022 report, the median household income is $74,580 (a 2.3% decline from 2021), while household income levels for each class level are as follows: Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020.

Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. If you are a single person in Los Angeles making around $70,000 a year, you are still considered low-income, according to a new statewide study.

In 2021, the median household income is roughly $68,000. An upper class income is usually considered at least 50% higher than the median household income. Therefore, an upper class income in America is $100,000 and higher. However, an upper class income also depends on where you live.

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. Living alone comes with added costs that can be more than double what you'd spend if you lived with someone else — otherwise known as the “singles tax.”

What is a realistic livable wage? ›

$50,000 a year is how much an hour? If you make $50,000 a year, your hourly salary would be $24.04.

On a salary of $36,000 per year, you can afford a house priced around $100,000-$110,000 with a monthly payment of just over $1,000. This assumes you have no other debts you're paying off, but also that you haven't been able to save much for a down payment.

And according to Reyes, the ideal mortgage size should be no more than three times your annual salary. If you make $60,000 per year, you should think twice before taking out a mortgage that's more than $180,000.

If you earn $50,000 a year in San Francisco or New York, you undoubtedly will need a roommate — or three — to make ends meet. But in many cities in the United States, $50,000 a year is plenty to live on. So what sort of enclaves against high costs are out there?

A "good" salary in the United States can vary widely depending on factors like location, industry, and individual lifestyle. However, as a rough estimate, many people consider a salary above $75,000 to $100,000 per year to be good, especially in areas with a lower cost of living.

You'll need to earn more than half a million annually to be considered among the highest earning residents in 11 states and Washington, D.C. "This comes down to cost of living," Murray said.