A six-figure salary doesn’t go quite as far in California as you might think. Between housing, groceries, transportation and other everyday expenses, living comfortably can require a pretty hefty paycheck.
SmartAsset recently looked at how much people need to earn to live comfortably in every U.S. state. For California, the answer is $126,797 a year for a single adult.
How much do you need to earn in California?
According to the study, a single adult in California needs:
- $126,797 per year
- About $10,566 per month before taxes
- 6.1% more than the amount needed in 2025
That puts California among the most expensive states in the country for a single person.
Only Hawaii ($129,002) and Massachusetts ($127,213) have higher income requirements.
California is getting more expensive
California’s comfortable-income threshold increased 6.1% from 2025 to 2026, one of the biggest increases in the country.
Only Montana, New York and Maine saw larger increases.
The study uses data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator and follows the popular 50/30/20 budgeting rule. That means 50% of income goes toward necessities, 30% toward things you want and 20% toward savings.
How does California compare?
The difference between states is pretty significant. A single adult needs $81,245 a year in West Virginia, the lowest amount in the study. Meanwhile, Hawaii has the highest requirement at $129,002.
California comes in at $126,797, meaning the amount needed to live comfortably here is more than $45,000 higher than in West Virginia.
Of course, everyone’s idea of “comfortable” is different, and your actual expenses will depend on where you live and how you spend your money.
But for anyone living in California, these numbers show just how expensive the Golden State has become.
