Cost of Living Alone in the U.S. — What Salary Do You Need?
Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFFThe minimum salary band needed to keep a 1BR under 30% of take-home pay in each city — a common benchmark for comfortably living alone. Cities are sorted from most to least accessible.
St. Louis, MO 1BR $995/mo $40-60k+ needed Pittsburgh, PA 1BR $1,077/mo $60-80k+ needed Houston, TX 1BR $1,323/mo $60-80k+ needed Jacksonville, FL 1BR $1,382/mo $60-80k+ needed San Antonio, TX 1BR $1,177/mo $60-80k+ needed Detroit, MI 1BR $1,122/mo $60-80k+ needed Columbus, OH 1BR $1,194/mo $60-80k+ needed Indianapolis, IN 1BR $1,267/mo $60-80k+ needed Kansas City, MO 1BR $1,197/mo $60-80k+ needed Albuquerque, NM 1BR $1,185/mo $60-80k+ needed Philadelphia, PA 1BR $1,520/mo $80-100k+ needed Baltimore, MD 1BR $1,511/mo $80-100k+ needed Austin, TX 1BR $1,562/mo $80-100k+ needed Dallas, TX 1BR $1,648/mo $80-100k+ needed Atlanta, GA 1BR $1,660/mo $80-100k+ needed Nashville, TN 1BR $1,578/mo $80-100k+ needed Tampa, FL 1BR $1,696/mo $80-100k+ needed Orlando, FL 1BR $1,731/mo $80-100k+ needed Charlotte, NC 1BR $1,538/mo $80-100k+ needed Raleigh, NC 1BR $1,596/mo $80-100k+ needed Chicago, IL 1BR $1,581/mo $80-100k+ needed Minneapolis, MN 1BR $1,405/mo $80-100k+ needed Phoenix, AZ 1BR $1,583/mo $80-100k+ needed Salt Lake City, UT 1BR $1,456/mo $80-100k+ needed Las Vegas, NV 1BR $1,478/mo $80-100k+ needed Seattle, WA 1BR $2,146/mo $100-130k+ needed Portland, OR 1BR $1,677/mo $100-130k+ needed Sacramento, CA 1BR $1,832/mo $100-130k+ needed Miami, FL 1BR $1,995/mo $100-130k+ needed Denver, CO 1BR $1,754/mo $100-130k+ needed Boston, MA 1BR $2,476/mo $130-180k+ needed Washington, DC, DC 1BR $2,015/mo $130-180k+ needed Los Angeles, CA 1BR $2,085/mo $130-180k+ needed San Diego, CA 1BR $2,459/mo $130-180k+ needed New York City, NY 1BR $2,655/mo $180k++ needed San Francisco, CA 1BR $2,977/mo $180k++ needed San Jose, CA 1BR $2,982/mo $180k++ needed
Minimum band where 1BR rent stays under 30% of take-home. Source: HUD FY2026 FMR, IRS 2025.