This Is How Much It Costs To 'Live Comfortably' In CA

CALIFORNIA — It’s no secret that the cost of living is high in parts of California, but a new ranking from consumer finance website SmartAsset shows just how high the price of comfort is in certain Golden State cities.

The site ranked major U.S. cities by how much individuals and families need to make to live comfortably — meaning half the household income goes to necessities, 30 percent goes to extras such as entertainment and hobbies, and 20 percent helps pay off debt or is saved.

Using that measure, seven of the ten costliest cities were in California.

Comfort comes at the highest price for Californians in San Jose, which ranked second-costliest in the nation, and where an individual would need to make $136,739 and a family with two adults and two children would require $334,547 to be comfortable.

Irvine and Santa Ana tied for the third and fourth most expensive cities to live comfortably. In both, an individual would need to make $126,797 and a family of four would require $291,450.

San Diego and Chula Vista tied for sixth and seventh with $122,803 needed for an individual and $289,453 required for a family. San Francisco was eighth, with an individual needing $119,558 and a family requiring $339,123.

Coming in tenth was Oakland, where an individual needs $118,768 and a family requires $316,243.

The non-California cities among the nation’s costliest were New York City, which ranked first with $138,570 needed for an individual and $318,406 required for a family, as well as Boston, which was fifth, and Seattle, which came in ninth.

The most affordable place to live comfortably in California is Bakersfield, which ranked 35th least expensive out of the 99 cities on the list, and where an individual requires $89,190 to be comfortable and a family needs $218,150.

The national average income to sustain a comfortable lifestyle in a major U.S. city is $96,500 for an individual and $235,000 for a family.

And if you’re looking for comfort on a budget? Head south, y’all — specifically to Texas. Houston, El Paso and Lubbock were ranked the three most affordable cities to live comfortably, while Laredo was fifth.