Big city living doesn’t come cheap—especially in times of inflation. But just how much do you need to live comfortably in some of America’s most popular residential destinations?
Charles Schwab’s annual Modern Wealth Survey is out with some staggering statistics—and no surprise that San Francisco residents seemingly need the largest net worths to live “comfortably.”
According to survey respondents, in San Francisco, the threshold for what respondents consider financially comfortable is a net worth of $1.7 million. That’s the highest total in the survey, which examined 12 of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country.
New York landed at no. 2, with a net worth cushion of $1.4 million. Southern California (which, for the survey’s purposes included L.A and San Diego), was at no. 3 with $1.3 million.
Seattle and Washington, D.C. rounded out the top five, both coming in just over $1 million.
The big city with the smallest net worth needs was Denver with an average response of $671,000.
The online survey was conducted in early February, with a sample of 500-750 residents in each metropolitan area. (Net worth is a measure of the value of the assets a person or corporation owns, minus the liabilities they owe.)