According to a financial rule of thumb, a person should spend about 50 percent of his or her after-tax income on necessities. That includes things like rent, food, utilities, health care, and transportation. Another 30 percent should be spent on discretionary purchases, and the remaining 20 percent should be stashed away in savings. 

That sounds fine and dandy, but it turns out it's nearly impossible to follow that rule in Miami. 

According to a new analysis from Go Banking Rates, to comfortably budget like that here, a person would need to make $77,057 a year. It's a bummer than that the median income in Miami is just $30,858. 

The analysis takes into account things like median rent and local cost of living. To simply pay for necessities, an average Miamian should make $38,529 a year. That figure was doubled to come to the ideal level. Of course, it seems these estimates are modeled for single people living alone. 

Miami's ideal comfortable living outcome isn't shocking when compared to some other large cities. In Seattle, you need $72,092; in L.A., the magic number is $74,371; and it's $87,446 in New York. San Franciscans need an estimated $119,570 a year to live comfortably, by far the most. 

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

SHOW ME HOW

X

Newsletters

_{All-access pass to the top stories, events and offers around town.}

• No Thanks
• Sign Up

X

SUCCESS!

You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!

Here's what makes Miami unique, and depressingly so: The difference between the estimated ideal income and what the average person makes is $46,199. 

No other city, even San Francisco, has as high a difference between the ideal salary number and the real number. 

Of course, people can still find living situations that fall well below the median rent (even if they aren't ideal), and thrifty shoppers can find other necessities on the cheap. People obviously do and can get by on far less, but it's questionable whether they're really living comfortably and saving enough for the future. 

However, in a city noted for its income inequality and where half the residents make less than $30,858 a year, this finding isn't a surprise. The question is whether anything serious will ever be done to fix it. 

• Real Estate