COLUMBUS, OH (WOWO) — The salary needed to live comfortably varies sharply across the Midwest, and the amount a single adult needs depends heavily on where they live.

Using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, the ranking measures the annual income a single adult would need to maintain a sustainable level of financial comfort, with 50% of income going toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings or debt repayment.

For people in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, the cost-of-living picture is notably different from the nation’s most expensive states.

Ohio

Ohio does not appear in the first 20 states in the ranking provided, meaning the income required for a single adult to live comfortably in Ohio is below Montana’s threshold of $101,587 or less, based on the portion of the ranking supplied.

That puts Ohio well below states such as California, New York, Massachusetts and Hawaii, where a single adult needs more than $120,000 annually under the same methodology.

For Ohio residents, that difference can be significant when comparing salaries and household expenses with higher-cost states.

Indiana

Indiana also does not appear among the top 20 states in the provided ranking.

That means the salary threshold for a single adult in Indiana falls below the levels listed for the 20 highest-cost states in the data supplied.

For Hoosiers, the figures highlight one potential advantage of living in a lower-cost state: A salary that might be difficult to stretch in places such as Hawaii, Massachusetts or California can provide considerably more purchasing power in the Midwest.

Michigan

Michigan likewise does not appear in the top 20.

The state’s absence from the highest-income-needed portion of the ranking indicates that Michigan’s estimated comfortable-living threshold for a single adult is below the levels required in the nation’s most expensive states.

That does not mean housing, food, transportation and other expenses are inexpensive for Michigan residents. Rather, the ranking illustrates that the overall income required under the 50/30/20 model is lower than in the states dominating the top of the list.

Among the states that do rank highest, Illinois is the closest comparison for residents of the three-state region. Illinois ranks 19th, with a single adult needing an estimated $101,587 per year, up 3.6% from the previous year.

For a family of four, Illinois’ estimated income requirement climbs to $244,109.

The difference becomes even more striking when Illinois is compared with the most expensive states. Hawaii tops the list at $129,002 for a single adult and $313,165 for a family of four.

Massachusetts ranks second for a single adult at $127,213, while California is third at $126,797. New York is fourth at $124,342.

The ranking shows why salary comparisons can be misleading without considering where someone lives. An income of $100,000 can have substantially different purchasing power depending on housing costs and other expenses in a particular state.

For residents of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, the broader takeaway is that the Midwest generally sits below the nation’s highest-cost states when it comes to the salary needed for a single adult to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

However, the table provided does not include the exact Ohio, Indiana or Michigan figures, so those numbers should not be inferred from their absence from the top 20.