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![]() If you’re happy with renting a 1-bedroom in the city, buying your basics at Costco, not paying too much for transportation in your mid-range automobile (or better yet, learning to navigate our embryonic public transportation system), and carrying a not-so-fancy insurance plan, you’ll be sitting pretty. Short answer: They used the 50-30-20 rule of personal budgeting (50% of your income goes to basic housing and food, 30% goes towards “discretionary” spending – basically anything fun like going out – and the last 20% goes to savings.) Are you with me so far, or did I stump you on with the 20% savings figure? What does $75k a year buy you in terms of comfort here in LA? How the heck did they come up with that “live comfortably” in LA number?** I couldn’t stop thinking about this and have come up with the most relevant FAQs for those of you who can’t stop thinking about it, either. Again, this is a single person, NO KIDS or stay-at-home spouse. This is all fine and dandy until you look at what things really cost and note that the median income in the Southland is merely $48,682. They calculated an annual income of $74,371 was about right for the average person to live comfortably in Los Angeles. The website jumped in and did the math for us in their piece, “How Much Money You Need to Live Comfortably in the 50 Biggest Cities”. The numbers went up from there for those who wanted to do things like buying a single family home in a ‘good area,’ go all out and lead the ‘good life’ or educate their offspring at a ‘good school.’ In other words, in L.A., it’s all about good. I asked my friends on Facebook what they thought it would take, and their answers ranged from an annual low of $45,000 to a high of around $300,000 to be “ comfortable” here in Los Angeles. For others, it means a roof over your head in the Hollywood Hills plus another in Aspen or Palm Springs– your educated guesses are sure to vary widely. So, how much dough a year do you think it takes to live comfortably in my hometown of Los Angeles? Since the notion of comfort is highly subjective and skewed by each individual’s own circumstances – for some, it means a roof over your head. FATHER: “Well, son, let’s just say we’re comfortable.”.By David Rae Certified Financial Planner™, Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ What does it take to live comfortably in LA Old joke: ![]() ![]() Update: The 2023 State Income Limits report stated that a family of 4 living in Los Angeles would be considered low-income with incomes below $109,000 per year. How much do you really need to afford the cost of living “comfortably” in Los Angeles? ![]() We all know the cost of living in Los Angeles is HIGH. ![]()
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