{"id":1437,"date":"2025-09-08T01:23:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T01:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/1437\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T01:23:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T01:23:15","slug":"the-salary-needed-to-afford-californias-largest-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/1437\/","title":{"rendered":"The Salary Needed To Afford California\u2019s Largest Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living in California\u2019s biggest cities comes at a steep price<\/a> \u2014 especially if comfort is the goal.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find 15 of the nation\u2019s 75 most populous cities in the Golden State. Of those 15, even the least expensive requires an annual salary of more than $100,000 to earn a comfortable living.<\/p>\n

Read Next: The Living Wage a Family of Four Needs in All 50 States<\/a><\/p>\n

Find Out: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires \u2014 and How You Can, Too<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to a recent GOBankingRates analysis of data from the U.S. Census, the Zillow Home Value Index and Federal Reserve Economic Data. Using these sources, GOBankingRates calculated the annual cost of living, then doubled it to determine what it takes to live comfortably in each city. This approach is based on the 50\/30\/20 rule, which states that needs should not exceed 50% of total household income. Doubling the amount needed leaves enough for comfortable discretionary spending and savings\/debt.<\/p>\n

While California\u2019s 15th-least expensive major city still requires six figures to live comfortably, it\u2019s possible to go much higher. In the Golden State\u2019s most expensive major city, you\u2019ll need to pull in a whopping $315,000 a year to make a comfortable living.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at all 15 cities<\/a> and their annual living costs, along with populations and livability scores sourced from AreaVibes.<\/p>\n

\"LosLos Angeles
\nPopulation: 3,857,897
\nLivability: 67
\nTotal cost of living annually: $100,266
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $200,532<\/p>\n

California\u2019s most populous city \u2014 and the second most populous city in the nation \u2014 has a household median income of around $80,000. Single-family homes in L.A. are valued at $1.4 million on average.<\/p>\n

Learn More: These Are America\u2019s 50 Wealthiest Suburbs in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Check Out: Here\u2019s the Toll Pass You\u2019ll Need To Travel in All 50 States<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego
\nPopulation: 1,385,061
\nLivability: 75
\nTotal cost of living annually: $106,761
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $213,522<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll have to top $200,000 a year to make a comfortable living in sunny San Diego. The annual household median income is well short of that, coming in around $104,000. Single-family homes here were valued at $1.2 million on average as of last May.<\/p>\n

Try This: 8 Smart Ways Frugal People Are Living Like There\u2019s Already a Recession<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SanSan Jose
\nPopulation: 990,054
\nLivability: 79
\nTotal cost of living annually: $140,115
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $280,229<\/p>\n

San Jose\u2019s annual cost of comfortable living is the nation\u2019s second highest. The average single-family home in this Silicon Valley city was valued at $1.55 million last May. San Jose\u2019s median household income is $142,000.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco
\nPopulation: 836,321
\nLivability: 75
\nTotal cost of living annually: $129,872
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $259,745<\/p>\n

San Francisco saw its population dip 1.7% between 2022 and 2023 \u2014 the steepest drop among the 75 largest U.S. cities. Living in the City by the Bay remains expensive, with single-family homes valued at $1.4 million.<\/p>\n

\"DowntownFresno
\nPopulation: 543,615
\nLivability: 63
\nTotal cost of living annually: $51,638
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $103,276<\/p>\n

Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno offers the least expensive annual living costs among California\u2019s 15 largest cities. Single-family homes here are valued at a relatively cheap $400,000 on average. Fresno\u2019s median household income sits around $67,000.<\/p>\n

\"Lane\"Sacramento
\nPopulation: 524,802
\nLivability: 73
\nTotal cost of living annually: $60,000
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $120,000<\/p>\n

Single-family homes in California\u2019s capital were valued just shy of $500,000 as of last May. Sacramento\u2019s median household income is about $84,000, well short of the total needed to live comfortably.<\/p>\n

Learn More: These Are America\u2019s 50 Wealthiest Suburbs in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ALong Beach
\nPopulation: 458,491
\nLivability: 69
\nTotal cost of living annually: $91,653
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $183,305<\/p>\n

Long Beach has drawn in more seniors in recent years \u2014 its 65+ population increased by about three-quarters of a percent between 2022 and 2023. Single-family homes in Long Beach were\u00a0valued at $933,000 as of last May.<\/p>\n

\"Oakland,Oakland
\nPopulation: 438,072
\nLivability: 71
\nTotal cost of living annually: $84,401
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $168,802<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s median income is around $97,000. Single-family homes here are valued at $829,000.<\/p>\n

\"Bakersfield-California\"Bakersfield
\nPopulation: 408,366
\nLivability: 76
\nTotal cost of living annually: $51,677
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $103,354<\/p>\n

Bakersfield\u2019s livability score from AreaVibes is the second lowest among the nation\u2019s 75 largest cities. Still, you\u2019ll need an annual salary over $100,000 to live comfortably here. Bakersfield\u2019s median household income came in well below that \u2014 around $77,000.<\/p>\n

\"AvengersAnaheim
\nPopulation: 344,553
\nLivability: 69
\nTotal cost of living annually: $92,355
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $184,711<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still possible to find a single-family home in Anaheim for less than $1 million, with the average value listed at $975,000 in May. Anaheim\u2019s median household income sits around $91,000 a year.<\/p>\n

Check Out: Here\u2019s the Toll Pass You\u2019ll Need To Travel in All 50 States<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Stockton,Stockton
\nPopulation: 320,470
\nLivability: 59
\nTotal cost of living annually: $56,670
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $113,341<\/p>\n

Among the 75 largest U.S. cities, Stockton has the third-lowest livability score from AreaVibes. You\u2019d still require an annual salary of $113,000 to live comfortably here, according to GBR\u2019s analysis. Single-family homes in Stockton were valued at $451,000 in this study, relatively cheap for the state.<\/p>\n

\"DowntownRiverside
\nPopulation: 316,241
\nLivability: 67
\nTotal cost of living annually: $72,243
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $144,486<\/p>\n

Depending on traffic, Riverside is about an hour east of Los Angeles by car. As of last May, single-family homes were valued around $661,000.<\/p>\n

\"SantaSanta Ana
\nPopulation: 311,639
\nLivability: 51
\nTotal cost of living annually: $87,907
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $175,814<\/p>\n

Santa Ana\u2019s livability score from AreaVibes is the lowest among the 75 largest U.S. cities. It\u2019s still an expensive place to live, however, with the 11th highest total annual cost of living among those cities. Santa Ana\u2019s median household income is about $88,000 \u2014 almost exactly half of the salary required to live comfortably.<\/p>\n

Check Out: Here\u2019s the Toll Pass You\u2019ll Need To Travel in All 50 States<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AIrvine
\nPopulation: 308,160
\nLivability: 76
\nTotal cost of living annually: $157,492
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $314,983<\/p>\n

Among America\u2019s 75 largest cities, Irvine saw the largest jumps between 2022 and 2023 in average household median income (+$6,700) and average value for a single-family home (+$167,000). Irvine\u2019s comfortable cost of living annually is the highest among those 75 cities. The average value of a single-family home here is $1.9M.<\/p>\n

\"ChulaChula Vista
\nPopulation: 275,030
\nLivability: 75
\nTotal cost of living annually: $88,478
\nComfortable cost of living annually: $176,956<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find Chula Vista about halfway between San Diego and the U.S.-Mexico border. Based on the most recent numbers available, the median household income in Chula Vista is $105,000. The average single-family home is valued at $904,000.<\/p>\n

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the 75 largest U.S. cities by population and determined the salary needed to live comfortably in each location. GBR determined the top 75 cities by population using the U.S. Census American Community Survey and sourced data for total population, population ages 65 and over, total households and median household income. The single-family home value was sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index from May 2025 and May 2024. By assuming a 10% down payment and using the national 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.75% (sourced on July 21 from Federal Reserve Economic Data), the average mortgage cost was calculated. Using the average mortgage cost and average expenditures, the average total cost of living was calculated for each city. Using the 50\/30\/20 rule, which states that needs should not exceed 50% of total household income, the total cost of living was doubled to find the comfortable cost of living. All data was collected on and is up to date as of July 21, 2025.<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on
\n GOBankingRates.com<\/a>:
\n The Salary Needed To Afford California\u2019s Largest Cities<\/a><\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Living in California\u2019s biggest cities comes at a steep price \u2014 especially if comfort is the goal. You\u2019ll…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,184,85,46],"class_list":["post-1437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}