As the cost of living in Austin fluctuates, a financially stable income is getting harder to come by. A new study has revealed that Austinites will have to cross over into the six-figure salary threshold in order to make living comfortable in 2025.

That's according to SmartAsset's latest report, "Salary Needed to Live Comfortably in U.S. Cities – 2025 Study" which examined data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator to determine the cost of living for a childless individual in the 100 largest American metro areas.

Single adults in Austin would need to make $101,587 a year to live a comfortable life in 2025, or $1,830 more than last year's salary requirements.

For a family of two working adults and two children, the combined income necessary to live comfortably in Austin is $233,376 a year. For additional context, the median household income in the city was $74,474 in 2023.

Despite that increase, Austin locals have the No. 51 most affordable salary requirements to maintain financial stability out of the 100 most populous U.S. cities, the report found. So it's not that bad in comparison to other major cities.

Breaking down the cost of living in Austin
SmartAsset also used the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy to figure out what a “comfortable lifestyle” meant for the purpose of their study: 50 percent of their income goes to a person’s needs and living expenses, 30 percent to their wants, and 20 percent for their savings or paying down debt.

That means a childless Austinite would need to spend $50,794 of their salary on their living expenses and $30,476 for discretionary expenses, then put $20,317 toward their savings or debt payments.

Families of four would have to spend about $116,688 on living expenses, $70,013 on entertainment or hobbies, and $46,675 toward savings or paying down debt in order to live comfortably in Austin, based on the study's findings.

"Most households aim to maintain a cushion between the necessary spending for day-to-day necessities – like housing, food, utilities and childcare – while also enjoying life in the moment and saving for the future," the report's author wrote. "This means keeping room in the budget for the occasional vacation or splurge, as well as savings for long-term goals like retirement or a child’s college education."

The U.S. city where residents need to make the most money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in 2025 is San Jose, California. Single individuals need to make a minimum of $147,430, with families of four requiring $371,571 a year to be financially stable.

Elsewhere in Texas
Several Texas cities are more affordable than Austin when it comes to earning enough income to live comfortably. San Antonio (No. 6) and Houston (No. 15) stood out as the top two cities that have the lowest statewide salary requirements.

Single San Antonio residents would need to make $86,694 in order to live comfortably in their city, while Houstonians would have to make $90,064.

That's not too far off from Indianapolis, Indiana, which ranked as the No. 1 most affordable U.S. city, with residents needing to make $1,515 less than San Antonio residents to live comfortably in the city.

Here's how other Texas cities fared in the report:

• No. 31 – Dallas, Irving, and Garland (tied, $95,930)
• No. 34 – Fort Worth and Arlington (tied, $96,429)
• No. 69 – Plano, Frisco, and McKinney (tied, $107,994)