The Salary Singles Need To Live Comfortably in These 47 Southern ZIP Codes
There’s no worse financial feeling than after paying the monthly bills, you say to yourself, “That’s what I have to live on for the rest of the month?” Your bank balance, of course, is determined by two things: the amount of money you bring in each month and the amount you ship out. And your financial stock won’t improve until you change one – or both.
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Ask your boss for a raise, pick up a side gig, find a new career with better pay altogether. Or think about moving to an area where higher wages, or lower housing costs, can help you to live comfortably on a lone income as a single person.
To help you figure out the cities in the South where you could – and could not – live comfortably on one income, GOBankingRates studied the top 50 cities by population in the region. The study resulted in telling numbers of where the salary needed to live comfortably as a single person far outpaces the median household income, or where you could carve an affordable lifestyle that includes paying the bills and having enough leftover for saving and investing. The cities are listed here by highest to lowest monthly cost of living, and in some cases, a city is listed twice to address areas that differ by ZIP code.
Frisco, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $140,181
Median household income: $142,995
Average monthly cost of living: $5,841
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Cumming, Georgia (ZIP Code 30040)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $138,537
Median household income: $124,517
Average monthly cost of living: $5,772
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Suwanee, Georgia
Salary needed to live comfortably: $131,795
Median household income: $127,374
Average monthly cost of living: $5,491
Winter Garden, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $130,914
Median household income: $96,033
Average monthly cost of living: $5,455
Hialeah, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $126,310
Median household income: $36,594
Average monthly cost of living: $5,263
Royal Palm Beach, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $126,115
Median household income: $77,190
Average monthly cost of living: $5,255
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Sugar Land, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $125,722
Median household income: $142,073
Average monthly cost of living: $5,238
Silver Spring, Maryland
Salary needed to live comfortably: $123,678
Median household income: $84,909
Average monthly cost of living: $5,153
Tampa, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $118,085
Median household income: $96,843
Average monthly cost of living: $4,920
Katy, Texas (ZIP Code 77494)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $117,520
Median household income: $137,275
Average monthly cost of living: $4,897
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Wake Forest, North Carolina
Salary needed to live comfortably: $117,270
Median household income: $107,114
Average monthly cost of living: $4,886
Cedar Park, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $117,160
Median household income: $108,937
Average monthly cost of living: $4,882
Woodbridge, Virginia (ZIP Code 22193)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $116,721
Median household income: $109,203
Average monthly cost of living: $4,863
Pembroke Pines, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $115,214
Median household income: $64,467
Average monthly cost of living: $4,801
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Hendersonville, Tennessee
Salary needed to live comfortably: $114,980
Median household income: $82,780
Average monthly cost of living: $4,791
Woodbridge, Virginia (ZIP Code 22191)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $114,270
Median household income: $92,432
Average monthly cost of living: $4,761
Leander, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $112,379
Median household income: $112,267
Average monthly cost of living: $4,682
Mansfield, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $109,030
Median household income: $102,370
Average monthly cost of living: $4,543
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Virginia Beach, Virginia
Salary needed to live comfortably: $105,873
Median household income: $84,040
Average monthly cost of living: $4,411
Missouri City, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $104,131
Median household income: $120,418
Average monthly cost of living: $4,339
Nashville, Tennessee
Salary needed to live comfortably: $103,791
Median household income: $61,781
Average monthly cost of living: $4,325
Pflugerville, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $103,686
Median household income: $98,610
Average monthly cost of living: $4,320
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Concord, North Carolina
Salary needed to live comfortably: $102,356
Median household income: $84,051
Average monthly cost of living: $4,265
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Salary needed to live comfortably: $101,921
Median household income: $81,640
Average monthly cost of living: $4,247
Powder Springs, Georgia
Salary needed to live comfortably: $101,362
Median household income: $88,981
Average monthly cost of living: $4,223
Pearland, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $100,767
Median household income: $112,815
Average monthly cost of living: $4,199
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Salary needed to live comfortably: $98,930
Median household income: $43,007
Average monthly cost of living: $4,122
Charlotte, North Carolina
Salary needed to live comfortably: $96,725
Median household income: $72,619
Average monthly cost of living: $4,030
League City, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $95,948
Median household income: $115,979
Average monthly cost of living: $3,998
Burleson, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $94,847
Median household income: $87,884
Average monthly cost of living: $3,952
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San Marcos, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $93,064
Median household income: $44,914
Average monthly cost of living: $3,878
Grand Prairie, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $91,992
Median household income: $82,395
Average monthly cost of living: $3,833
Raleigh, North Carolina
Salary needed to live comfortably: $91,148
Median household income: $58,177
Average monthly cost of living: $3,798
Katy, Texas (ZIP Code 77449)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $86,052
Median household income: $77,171
Average monthly cost of living: $3,586
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New Braunfels, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $86,019
Median household income: $73,662
Average monthly cost of living: $3,584
Atlanta
Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,350
Median household income: $55,737
Average monthly cost of living: $3,473
Houston
Salary needed to live comfortably: $82,429
Median household income: $69,857
Average monthly cost of living: $3,435
Clarksville, Tennessee
Salary needed to live comfortably: $82,247
Median household income: $57,356
Average monthly cost of living: $3,427
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El Paso, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $81,165
Median household income: $66,742
Average monthly cost of living: $3,382
San Antonio, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $80,311
Median household income: $77,468
Average monthly cost of living: $3,346
Dallas (ZIP Code 75211)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $78,783
Median household income: $50,368
Average monthly cost of living: $3,283
Dallas (ZIP Code 75217)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $74,299
Median household income: $44,384
Average monthly cost of living: $3,096
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El Paso, Texas (ZIP Code 79936)
Salary needed to live comfortably: $68,663
Median household income: $58,096
Average monthly cost of living: $2,861
Mission, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $65,674
Median household income: $48,288
Average monthly cost of living: $2,736
Brownsville, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $61,877
Median household income: $35,318
Average monthly cost of living: $2,578
Pharr, Texas
Salary needed to live comfortably: $61,815
Median household income: $39,490
Average monthly cost of living: $2,576
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed ZIP codes across the southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, to find the salary a single person needs to live comfortably. First, GOBankingRates found the total population of ZIP codes in the southern United States, using the U.S. Census American Community Survey, along with the total households, and household median income from the same source. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, and using the national average expenditure costs for a single person, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey for a single person, the average expenditure cost for each city can be calculated. The average mortgage cost can be calculated by using the average single-family home value, assuming a 10% down payment, and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data. By using the 50/30/20 rule that states necessities are to be no more than 50% of household income, the average salary needed to live comfortably can be calculated. The top 50 cities by population are kept for this study and the top cities are sorted by salary needed to live comfortably. All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 7, 2024.
Photo disclaimer: Any photos are for illustrative purposes only. The closest major city outside of the city mentioned in the article may have been used.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Salary Singles Need To Live Comfortably in These 47 Southern ZIP Codes
