CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The residents of 14 U.S. cities must earn at least $100,000 a year to comfortably rent or own a home in their area, according to an analysis from GoBankingRates.com.
The website used housing information from Zillow and price estimates of necessities like transportation and groceries from Sperling’s Best Places to determine how much a person needs to earn to live in the country’s 50 largest metros.
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The analysis used that information to determine the income necessary to stick the “50/30/20” rule of budgeting — 50% for needs like housing and groceries, 30% for wants and 20% for savings.
The rule is difficult to follow in the U.S. cities analyzed. The median salary in the 50 largest metros falls short of what is needed to easily buy or rent a home in those areas.
In Charlotte, the analysis determined homeowners need income of $80,070 to follow that budgeting advice, while renters need $82,999. The reported local median income of $58,202 is well below what is needed to easily buy or rent in the area.
Click through this slideshow to see how that compares to the country’s biggest cities.
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