This is the income needed to ‘live comfortably’ in Arkansas, report says

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.

The top 10 were:

1. West Virginia
2. Arkansas
3. Oklahoma
4. North Dakota
5. Kentucky
6. Ohio
7. South Dakota
8. Louisiana
9. Mississippi
10. 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

Arkansas was the fourth-lowest among incomes for two working adults raising two children needed to “live comfortably”.

The salary needed for a single working adult in Arkansas was $666 more than West Virginia, according to the report.

On the other side of the rankings, Massachusetts was the most expensive for a single adult to “live comfortably,” with a needed salary of $116,022.

For the full report, visit SmartAsset’s website.