California remains one of the nation’s most expensive states to live in, with communities like San José, San Francisco, and Orange County demanding six-figure incomes for comfortable living.

A recent SmartAsset study shows that a single adult in San José needs nearly $160,000 annually, while a family of four requires over $400,000, far outpacing local median incomes. Los Angeles ranks 16th, where single adults need $120,307 and families over $280,000. Housing costs are the primary driver of this gap, compounded by rising grocery and gas prices and stagnant wages.

The study underscores the broader housing affordability crisis in California, highlighting how daily necessities continue to climb while wages lag behind.

“It’s a problem that we created very slowly over a long period of time,” said Paavo Monkkonen, UCLA professor of urban planning and public policy, in a Los Angeles Times article.