A 2026 report analyzing how much it costs to live "in sustainable comfort" in the biggest U.S. cities has found Fort Worth residents need to make $1,123 more than they did last year to live comfortably in the city.
Fort Worth is tied with neighbor Arlington at No. 68 in SmartAsset's national ranking of the cities with the highest salary needed to live comfortably in 2026, with single adult residents needing to make $97,552 a year to qualify as "financially stable." Last year, single Fort Worth adults needed to make $96,429 to be considered financially stable.
Families with two working parents and two children need to make a household income of $217,235 to have a financially stable life in Fort Worth, the report found, which has remained unchanged since 2025.
To determine the rankings, SmartAsset's analysts examined 100 of the largest U.S. cities and used the latest cost of living data – such as the costs for housing, food, transportation, and income taxes where applicable – from the MIT Living Wage Calculator for childless individuals and for two working adults with two children.
For the purpose of the study, the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy was used to determine "comfortable lifestyle" costs for both individuals and families: 50 percent of income to cover needs and living expenses, 30 percent for "wants," and 20 percent for savings or paying down debt.
Here's breakdown of a Fort Worth resident's comfortable lifestyle based on SmartAsset's findings:
- $48,776 dedicated to needs and living expenses
- $29,266 dedicated to wants
- $19,510 dedicated to savings or debt repayment
This is SmartAsset's interpretation of a comfortable lifestyle for families of four:
- $108,618 dedicated to needs and living expenses
- $65,171 dedicated to wants
- $43,447 dedicated to savings or debt repayment
SmartAsset said single individuals and families should compare the fluctuating local cost of living and their long-term goals to fully "understand the context" of their respective household incomes. But it's worth pointing out that a financially stable life in Fort Worth isn't quite attainable for many residents: The city had a median household income of $82,503 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Elsewhere in North Texas, the report found that families in Frisco and McKinney "are closest to a comfortable salary."
"In Frisco, [Texas], the median household earns $145,444 – substantially higher than the national median of $83,730," the report's author wrote. "This figure also accounts for 63.1 percent of the $230,464 income a family of four in Frisco needs to live comfortably. In McKinney, TX, the $124,177 median household income accounts for 53.9 percent of the $230,464 needed."
The two suburbs also tied with Plano for the 29th highest salary needed nationally to live comfortably in 2026. Single adults living in these cities need to make $109,242 a year to live a financially stable life this year.
Dallas, Garland, and Irving all tied for for No. 72 overall, with single adults needing a $96,970 salary to live comfortably, and $214,490 for working families of four.
