Livability is subjective. But living comfortably can, roughly, be broken down by the 50/30/20 rule. That means 50% of earnings go to needs, like housing, 30% for wants and 20% for savings.

By that metric, a household would need a salary of $108,919 per year to be comfortable in Phoenix. That salary number was No. 20 on the list of 50 large cities studied by GoBankingRates.  The personal finance site determined its comfortability ratings based on stats like 2022 and 2021 household median income, year-over-year population growth, single-family home values and the overall cost of living.

According to the study, the annual cost of living in Phoenix — the “needs” — is $54,460. The area’s household median income is $72,092, meaning most families don’t earn enough to live comfortably, according to the 50/30/20 rule. The average value of a single-family home in Phoenix is $440,515.

Mesa was just ahead of Phoenix on the list, with a salary of $109,900 needed to live comfortably. Mesa’s household median income is $73,766, with an average single-family home value of $453,125. The “needs” portion of a family budget in Mesa was set at $54,950.

In Tucson, the salary needed to live comfortably was determined to be $91,575, with needs accounting for $45,788. Tucson’s median household income is $52,049 and average single-family home value is $343,909.

San Jose, California, was the most expensive city to live in comfortably, with a salary of $265,926.

Six of the top eight most expensive cities are in California.