SmartAsset Puts Tennessee Single-Adult Comfort Threshold at $89,898, Down 1.7% From 2025
Updated
Updated · WSMV 4 · Aug 17
SmartAsset Puts Tennessee Single-Adult Comfort Threshold at $89,898, Down 1.7% From 2025
3 articles · Updated · WSMV 4 · Aug 17
Summary
$89,898 in annual pre-tax income is what a single adult needs to live comfortably in Tennessee, according to SmartAsset’s latest study.
Tennessee ranked 37th among states, and its required salary fell 1.7% from 2025—the largest year-over-year decline in the report and one of only six state decreases.
SmartAsset based the estimate on living-wage data and a 50/30/20 budget framework, with 50% for necessities, 30% for discretionary spending and 20% for savings.
The finding sits above Tennessee’s $71,997 median household income; SmartAsset separately estimated the state’s middle-class household range at $47,998 to $143,994.