How much money do you need to live comfortably in Dallas-Fort Worth?

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Published  March 28, 2023 11:38am CDT
FOX 4
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DALLAS - A new study from Smart Asset breaks down how much money people living in the largest Metro areas in the United States need to make in order to live comfortably.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area was grouped together finished below the midway point, coming in at 17th on the list.

The Dallas skyline is awash in blue for the Light It Blue campaign to thank medical professionals and essential workers on the front lines fighting COVID-19.  (Joseph Haubert Photography)

According to the study, a North Texas resident without children would need to make $64,742 after taxes to live comfortably.

The study is based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which uses the cost housing, food, transportation, medical care and more.

In order to determine a "comfortable" lifestyle the study used the 50/30/20 rule, which requires 50% of after-tax income to go to needs, 30% to go to wants and 20% for savings or debt payments.

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Unsurprisingly, the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkely area was the most expensive place to live, requiring $84,026 after taxes to live comfortably. California showed up multiples times on the list with the San Diego (2) and Los Angeles (6) areas also landing in the top ten.

The DFW region was the most expensive in Texas. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land finished at number 20 on the list requiring $62,260 to live comfortably. The San Antonio-New Braunfels area was among the cheapest at 23rd, needing $59,270 to live comfortably.

Salary After Taxes Needed to Live Comfortably in the 25 Largest Metro Areas

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA, $84,026
  2. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, $79,324
  3. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, $78,752
  4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, $78,524
  5. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, $77,634
  6. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, $76,710
  7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, $76,194
  8. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, $74,086
  9. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, $70,892
  10. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL, $67,740
  11. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, $67,060
  12. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL, $67,056
  13. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA, $66,580
  14. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, $65,670
  15. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, $65,500
  16. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, $65,148
  17. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, $64,742
  18. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, $62,908
  19. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, $62,798
  20. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, $62,260
  21. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, $62,110
  22. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, $61,678
  23. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, $59,270
  24. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, $58,358
  25. St. Louis, MO-IL, $57,446