You May Not Want To Hear How Much Money You Have To Make To Live In Northern California (2024)

The high cost of living in Northern California is definitely not news to us, but you might be surprised when you see the actual numbers of how much you need to make to live in this state. To live comfortably and afford a home that costs $499,900, you'll need an average annual income of around $120,120. If that sounds outrageous, it's because it is!

Most other states require an average annual income of $40k to $70k. In comparison to the rest of the country, HowMuch ranks California as the third most expensive place to live, just behind Washington D.C. and Hawaii. This can be contributed mainly to the fact that there simply isn't enough available inventory for the high demand for housing our state is currently experiencing. We can't say we're surprised by that data, but it's sad to see nonetheless.

To put it into perspective, HowMuch compiled this infographic to show just how many hours the average person will need to work in order to afford a home mortgage in California. If you check out the Bay Area, you'll see that they estimate individuals will need to work an average of 107 hours per week to live in San Francisco. Oakland and San Jose aren't that much better with estimates of 83 and 74 hours needed per week respectively. Simply put, if you want to live in the Bay Area, you can pretty much say goodbye to your social life...or any kind of life outside of work.

If you know you can't afford a mortgage in California, renting may seem like the best option. However, you might be taken aback when you see just how much money you need to make monthly in order to even do that. With an estimated monthly cost of $8,313, California is the second most expensive place to rent in the United States. Washington D.C. comes in first with a slightly higher estimate of $8,487.

There is a small flicker of hope for those looking to live in Northern California (or California in general). According to this chart, cost of utilities in our state are actually not all that bad—well, in comparison to the rest of the country, that is. The chart shows that Californians spend an average of $438 per month on utilities including electricity, natural gas, internet, cable, and water. The states with the highest cost of utilities are Hawaii ($730.86), Alaska ($527.96), Rhode Island ($521.98), Connecticut ($496.07), and New York ($477.31).

Thinking about raising a family in California? You might want to check out this infographic which highlights the cost of childcare in the state versus the cost of college tuition. California ranks pretty high, with an estimated cost of $16.5k for full-time, center-based childcare and $9.7k for annual tuition and fees at public college.

Without a doubt, California living is expensive. If you're thinking of living here, or you already live here, you might want to consider getting into the state's most profitable business: Machinery and Mechanical Appliances, which is valued at $26.8 billion.