Here's the salary needed to 'live comfortably' in Triad metros: SmartAsset study

The Triad's two largest metros rank the top third of 99 cities nationally in terms of more reasonable wages needed to live comfortably, according a new study by SmartAsset.

Whereas the Triangle and Charlotte metros require a six-figure income, Winston-Salem requires an annual salary of $81,869 for a single person to live comfortably, tying it for 11th out of the 99 metros with New Orleans and Denver. Greensboro placed at No. 30 ($87,110) and Durham landed at No. 63 ($99,050). Raleigh had the highest salary needed in North Carolina, with its $102,752 ranking at No. 75. Charlotte ranked 70th, with an individual needing to make an annual salary of at least $101,338 — or an hourly wage of $48.72 — to achieve a comfortable lifestyle as defined in the study.

The personal finance website used the 50/30/20 rule to determine the minimum pre-tax salary that both a single person and two working adults with two children need to earn to live comfortably in 99 cities across the U.S. Under that formula, 50% of a person's budget is allocated for needs such as housing, groceries and transportation, 30% is earmarked for wants such as entertainment and hobbies, and 20% is reserved for paying off debt, saving or investing.

For the study, SmartAsset pulled the latest data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to determine the basic cost of living in each city. The data, which includes costs for housing, food, transportation and income taxes, was updated in February 2024.

For two working people raising two children in Winston-Salem, they'd need to earn a combined annual salary of $194,605. For two people with two children in Greensboro, the figure was $203,674.

That's as high inflation has taken a chunk out of workers' purchasing power. A separate study recently released by SmartAsset showed that the average person making an annual income of $100,000 in Charlotte is actually taking home about $76,750 after adjusting for taxes and cost of living.

SmartAsset's newest study found that the average U.S. individual must make $96,500 to live comfortably in one of the nation's largest cities.

Three Texas cities had the lowest salaries needed for living comfortably. Houston topped the list, at $75,088. It was followed by El Paso, at $75,254, and Lubbock, at $75,379.

New York City required the highest salary of $138,570, followed by the California cities of San Jose, $136,739, and Santa Ana, $126,797.

The study found six cities where families must earn a combined annual salary over $300,000 to comfortably raise two children: San Francisco ($339,123); San Jose ($334,738); Boston ($319,738); Arlington, Virginia ($318,573); New York City ($318,406); and Oakland, California ($316,243).