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The Salary Needed To Live Comfortably in America’s 50 State Capitals

April 04, 2025 — 07:02 am EDT

Written by T. Woods for GOBankingRates->

Ever daydream about moving to your state’s capital? Capital cities can often be an incredible mix of culture, politics and extremely diverse job markets, making them rather attractive places to live. Before you make the move to your state’s capital, though, it helps to get the lay of the economic land and know just how much such a move would cost.

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Recently, GOBankingRates researched all 50 state capitals to determine the salary needed to live comfortably in each. GOBankingRates then ranked each city by how closely those median incomes matched the salaries required to live in each city. See where your capital ranks.

Also see the salary single people need in 100 major cities.

Key Findings

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 10 most affordable state capitals are all within the Midwest or South. Jackson, Mississippi, was by far the most affordable, with a median income of $43,238 coming rather close to the annual salary needed to live comfortably ($55,201).

Meanwhile, it should come as no surprise that one of the most expensive states in the union — Hawaii — has the most expensive state capital. In Honolulu, the annual salary needed to live comfortably is a staggering $249,065, but the median income level is a third of that ($85,428).

Also See: How Much You Need To Earn To Be Upper Middle Class in Every State

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1. Jackson, Mississippi

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Lansing, United States - May 24, 2014 - The Michigan State Capitol as viewed from within Downtown Lansing, with trees, plants, office buildings, and pedestrians and cars and a driver in the foreground, and a blue sky with clouds in the background.

2. Lansing, Michigan

Montgomery, Alabama, USA - April 22, 2015: View of the Alabama State Capitol looking down Dexter Ave.

3. Montgomery, Alabama

Abraham Lincoln statue in front of the Illinois State Capital Building in Springfield, Illinois - Image.

4. Springfield, Illinois

Sixth Street music and entertainment district in downtown Austin, Texas, USA.

5. Charlestown, West Virginia

6. Topeka, Kansas

Des Moines, Iowa skyline from the state capital at sunset.

7. Des Moines, Iowa

Little Rock, Arkansas, USA skyline on the river at twilight.

8. Little Rock, Arkansas

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA downtown skyline at twilight.

9. Oklahoma City

Aerial view to Pioneers museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

10. Frankfort, Kentucky

Beautiful architecture in downtown Indianapolis, INDIANA, along the central canal

11. Indianapolis

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Columbia South Carolina shutterstock_110484680

12. Columbia, South Carolina

State House Maine Augusta shutterstock_1042326631

13. Augusta, Maine

Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri.

14. Jefferson City, Missouri

Louisiana State CapitolLouisiana State Capitol.

15. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Columbus, Ohio, USA skyline on the Scioto River.

16. Columbus, Ohio

See More: The Salary Needed To Afford America’s 50 Biggest Cities

PIERRE, SD - JULY 9, 2018: South Dakota Capital Building along Capitol Lake in Pierre, SD at sunset.

17. Pierre, South Dakota

Downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with the Cathedral of Saint Patrick.

18. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

19. Saint Paul, Minnesota

Aerial View of Lincoln, Nebraska in Autumn.

20. Lincoln, Nebraska

21. Tallahassee, Florida

Connecticut state capitol and surrounding lawn which is located in Hartford, CT, USA.

22. Hartford, Connecticut

23. Albany, New York

24. Dover, Delaware

North Dakota state capitol building in Bismarck, ND.

25. Bismarck, North Dakota

26. Richmond, Virginia

27. Trenton, New Jersey

Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA - July 21, 2013: People near the entrance to the Cheyenne Depot Plaza, city park in downtown Cheyenne.

28. Cheyenne, Wyoming

Oregon Capital Building in city of Salem, USA.

29. Salem, Oregon

Madison skyline and Wisconsin State Capitol.

30. Madison, Wisconsin

View of Capitol Hill with Rhode Island State House and streets of Providence behind.

31. Providence, Rhode Island

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HELENA, MONTANA - JULY 19: Montana State Capitol at 1301 E 6th Avenue on July 19, 2017 in Helena, Montana.

32. Helena, Montana

Vue sur le Capitol du New Hampshire et sa place public décorée pour le temps des fêtes.

33. Concord, New Hampshire

Downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Drone Skyline Aerial stock photo

34. Raleigh, North Carolina

Phoenix, Arizona, USA Downtown Skyline Aerial.

35. Phoenix

Montpelier, Vermont sits astride the Winooski River in the center of the state.

36. Montpelier, Vermont

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Downtown Nashville skyline with a beautiful pink, orange, and blue sunset, with the blue and pink of the sky reflected on the Cumberland River.

37. Nashville, Tennessee

38. Atlanta

39. Boise, Idaho

Aerial shot of the state capitol building dome in Carson City, Nevada on a sunny day in summer.

40. Carson City, Nevada

41. Olympia, Washington

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Aerial view of the California State Capitol building in Sacramento.

42. Sacramento, California

Alaska, USA - August 12, 2016: Downtown Juneau with flowers in the foreground with painted wooden storefront buildings and the Red Dog Saloon.

43. Juneau, Alaska

Cityscape of downtown Austin from the west in Zilker park 2025 stock photo

44. Austin, Texas

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA downtown skyline at dusk.

45. Santa Fe, New Mexico

The state capitol building of Utah, located in Salt Lake City, stands atop a hill overlooking the city.

46. Salt Lake City

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Denver, USA - People walking on a pedestrianized street in Denver's LoHi district, located near to the city centre.

47. Denver

Annapolis, MD, USA - February 8, 2023: The image is of the city of Annapolis, Maryland.

48. Annapolis, Maryland

Boston, Massachusetts, USA cityscape with the State House.

49. Boston

The beautiful coastline Honolulu Hawaii shot from an altitude of about 500 feet during a helicopter photo flight over the Pacific Ocean.

50. Honolulu

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each state capital to find the cost of living comfortably in each city. Data was culled from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, AreaVibes and the Zillow Home Value Index for January 2025. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 10, 2025.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Salary Needed To Live Comfortably in America’s 50 State Capitals

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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