FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas is among the top 10 states where it’s least expensive for a single adult to “live comfortably,” with Missouri landing just outside that top 10, 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 two working adults with two children.
Arkansas had the second-lowest income needed to “live comfortably” for a single working adult while Missouri had the 14th-lowest income for a single working adult.
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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.