What a Single Adult Needs to Earn in Every State

Why some high-cost states need a lower salary than you'd expect

Cost of living isn't the only thing that moves this number — state income tax does too. Washington and New Hampshire both have an above-average cost of living but no state income tax, so a single adult there needs less gross salary than someone in a similarly-priced state with a real income tax bill. The full state-by-state breakdown below includes each state's effective tax rate at the salary level shown, so you can see exactly how much of the gap is cost of living versus tax.

Methodology

For a single adult with no dependents: the national reference budget is the real 2024 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey figure for a one-person consumer unit's total average annual spending ($48,794/year) — real spending across both necessities and discretionary categories, so it is treated as the needs+wants (80%) tier of the 50/30/20 rule, with a real 20% savings margin added on top: national reference after-tax "comfortable" income of $60,993. That figure is scaled to each state's cost of living using the BEA's Regional Price Parity (all items, 2022 vintage, US=100), then a gross salary is solved (bisection over federal tax, FICA, and each state's own 2026 single-filer income tax brackets) that nets to exactly that after-tax target.

This is a statewide average — it compresses real intrastate cost-of-living variance (a major metro vs. a rural county in the same state can differ far more than the state average shown). "Comfortable" is SwitchWize's own 50/30/20 modeling choice applied to a real national reference budget, not a BLS- or BEA-endorsed definition of comfort. This produces more conservative (lower) figures than "living wage" or "cost of living" studies built from a bottom-up modeled necessities basket (for example, the MIT Living Wage Calculator methodology that studies like SmartAsset's similarly-named report are built on) — this model is grounded in real average spending behavior instead, which is transparent and auditable but is not itself a claim about what necessities should cost. Single adult, no dependents, no debt payments, and no employer benefits are modeled beyond what the BLS reference figure already reflects. State tax is computed from statutory single-filer brackets and the standard deduction only — no itemizing, credits, or local/city income tax (e.g. NYC, Philadelphia, Ohio municipalities).

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey — Total Average Annual Expenditures by Size of Consumer Unit: One Person Consumer Unit, 2024 — $48,794, series CXUTOTALEXPLB0502M.
• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State (all items), 2022
• Tax Foundation, 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets (single filer)
• Tax Foundation, 2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates (single filer)
• Social Security Administration, 2026 contribution and benefit base ($184,500)

Educational information, not personalized financial advice. Rates are illustrative of current market conditions and should be confirmed with the provider.