The answer is $44,000.

Enough to live by yourself but in a frugal non-extravagant manner assuming you plan on living in the city.

> 51% of U.S. employees making at least a $100,000 per year reported living paycheck-to-paycheck in December 2022 

This stat might mean something if it didn't realistically include people who say things like "y'know, after paying my bills, maxing out my 401k, backdooring my Roth, investing in my kid's 529, the stock market in general, and then paying the mortgage and car payments... there really isn't much left." Most poor people wouldn't consider the kind of "paycheck to paycheck" that a higher income person describes as anything resembling that.

You don’t have money for all that on 100k in the DC area. That income will only cover housing.

"At least" means that that percentage describes plenty of people that make well over that.

The single data point has very little value without more information about what the incomes of people saying they are living paycheck to paycheck. This range covers people making just over 100k and multimillionaires.

... yes, that was my point.

100k covers housing and more in DC. I know people making 50-60k and they live with roommates, but are still able to travel a little, save money in their 401k and Roths. If they made 100k they could afford to live alone and still have some leftover.

I'm not saying you'll live without thinking about money but you'll do okay.

Hire an outside consultant that specializes in compensation to tell you what the geographic differential is for an employee who works in DC for whatever the "base" city of the company happens to be. Edit - If I were on my work computer, I know a compensation consultant that could probably tell you exact numbers......

“Paycheck to paycheck” is meaningless. Cost of living calculators suck at factoring in not needing to own a car and pre-tax transportation costs. The value of free entertainment is also left out.