19 US cities where you can live comfortably on less than $50,000 a year

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If you can live by the 50-30-20 plan — spend 50% of your income on necessities, spend 30% on discretionary items, and save the remaining 20% — you're probably in pretty good financial shape.

That is, you're living comfortably, according to a new report from GOBankingRates on the income needed to afford living in the 50 biggest cities in America. But because cost of living and wages vary from city to city, you may be able to achieve this budget with ease in some places; in others, it's a much more challenging task.

To find out where you could live by the 50-30-20 budget on a salary of $50,000 or less a year — just shy of the median household income in the US — Business Insider filtered GOBankingRates' data on the 50 most populous US cities.

The income needed for each city was determined by monthly expenses — housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and health insurance — for a single person. GoBankingRates multiplied the total monthly cost of necessities for each city by 12 to get the annual cost. To live by the 50-30-20 rule, a person would need to earn twice as much as their expenses, so GoBankingRates doubled the total cost of necessities to arrive at the total recommended income for each city.

Below, check out the 19 places where you can live on a salary of $50,000 or less a year, including several cities in the Midwest and South. For context, we've also included how much the median household actually earns in each location.

Newark, New Jersey

Population: 280,579

Income needed: $49,580

Median income: $33,139

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Population: 445,830

Income needed: $49,415

Median income: $54,527

Mesa, Arizona

Population: 464,704

Income needed: $48,995

Median income: $48,809

St. Louis

Population: 317,419

Income needed: $48,986

Median income: $35,599

Louisville, Kentucky

Population: 612,780

Income needed: $48,897

Median income: $45,762

Memphis, Tennessee

Population: 656,861

Income needed: $48,467

Median income: $36,445

Las Vegas

Population: 613,599

Income needed: $48,111

Median income: $50,202

Lexington, Kentucky

Population: 310,797

Income needed: $47,856

Median income: $49,778

Indianapolis

Population: 848,788

Income needed: $47,127

Median income: $41,987

Arlington, Texas

Population: 383,204

Income needed: $46,420

Median income: $53,326

San Antonio

Population: 1,436,697

Income needed: $46,154

Median income: $46,744

Tucson, Arizona

Population: 527,972

Income needed: $45,414

Median income: $37,149

Columbus, Ohio

Population: 835,957

Income needed: $44,852

Median income: $45,659

Fresno, California

Population: 515,986

Income needed: $44,648

Median income: $41,531

Cincinnati

Population: 298,165

Income needed: $43,784

Median income: $33,604

Wichita, Kansas

Population: 388,413

Income needed: $43,644

Median income: $45,947

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Population: 557,169

Income needed: $42,445

Median income: $47,030

Detroit

Population: 680,250

Income needed: $42,161

Median income: $25,764

El Paso, Texas

Population: 679,036

Income needed: $40,393

Median income: $42,722

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