FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas is among the top 10 states where it’s least expensive for a single adult to “live comfortably,” according to a recent report from SmartAsset .
The report used MIT Living Wage Calculator data to gather the basic cost of living for an individual with no children and for two working adults with two children.
Arkansas had the second-lowest income needed to “live comfortably” for a single working adult.
Here’s how much you have to earn in Arkansas to qualify as middle class, study says
The top 10 were:
- West Virginia
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- North Dakota
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Iowa
SmartAsset defined “comfortable” as the annual income required to cover a 50/30/20 budget rule, which recommends spending approximately 50% of your income on basic needs like food and housing, 30% on wants, and putting away the remainder toward savings or paying off debt.
Here are the numbers SmartAsset released for Arkansas:
- Hourly wage needed for a single working adult: $38.20
- Salary needed for a single working adult: $79,456
- Rank of income needed for a family: 49 (out of 50)
- Salary needed across two working adults raising two children: $180,794