You must earn this much to live comfortably in NY and NJ in 2026: report
NEW YORK - Comfort is expensive! The price of the American dream has officially crossed the $200,000 threshold for a family of four in 40 states, including New York and New Jersey.
By the numbers:
As rising costs of housing, groceries, and essentials continue to reshape household budgets, a recent study reveals what it takes to cover your needs, pad your savings and still have enough left over to enjoy life in 2026.
In New York, a family of four needs to make at least $291,533 to sustain a comfortable lifestyle this year. Meanwhile, the salary for a single adult must be $124,342 or higher, which is an 8.4% increase from last year and the fourth-highest in the United States.
New Jersey came in just below New York when it comes to the needed salary for a single adult: $113, 776. However, a family of four needs to earn even more to live comfortably: $295, 110.
Big picture view:
The most expensive states to live in comfortably are Massachusetts and Hawaii. The income requirement for a family of four in Massachusetts is $329,555 and $129,002 for a single adult in Hawaii.
Mississippi and West Virginia are the least expensive states to live in comfortably. A family of four needs a salary of $187,533 in Mississippi, while a single adult must make $81,245 in West Virginia.
Dig deeper:
To determine the comfortable living wage for each state, the study based estimates on the baseline living wage for each state and adjusted it to reflect a comfortable lifestyle using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule.
This rule divides income into three categories: 50% for basic needs like housing and utilities, 30% for discretionary wants and 20% for savings, investments, and emergency funds. The resulting numbers reflect the total annual, pre-tax salary a worker needs to live comfortably in every state.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from SmartAsset.