How much a single person needs to earn to live alone in largest U.S. cities

You'll need to earn around $25 per hour to live on your own in the United States' 25 largest cities.

That's a median figure: You'll need more in cities like San Francisco or Boston, and less in San Antonio or Detroit. The money covers a single person's basic expenses like housing in a studio apartment, food, health care and transportation, based on estimates from the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute's Living Wage Family Budget calculator.

A $25 per hour wage works out to $52,000 per year, based on a 40-hour work week. But in nearly half of the 25 largest cities, the living wage is double that of the local minimum wage. In many of these markets, the minimum wage is less than $15 per hour. In some cities, minimum wage is as low as $7.25 per hour — the federal minimum.

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Many solo minimum-wage earners struggle to afford basic expenses based on their wages alone, and as such, rely on family or government assistance to get by. EPI's living wage estimates don't include those other possible sources of money.

Minimum-wage earners might also make sacrifices like forgoing car ownership or skipping on health care insurance. Having employer-sponsored health insurance certainly helps: It shaves roughly $2 off the hourly living wage in the 25 largest U.S. cities, according to EPI's estimates.

Here's a look at those 25 most-populated metro areas, ranked by the highest minimum wage needed to cover necessities:

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1. San Francisco

Hourly wage needed to cover basic costs: $35.98
Hourly minimum wage: $18.07 ($20 for fast food workers)

2. Boston

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $34.02
Hourly minimum wage: $15

3. New York

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $33.58
Hourly minimum wage: $16

4. Seattle

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $31.93
Hourly minimum wage: $19.97 (for most workers)

5. San Diego

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $30.46
Hourly minimum wage: $16.85 ($20 for fast food workers)

6. Washington, DC

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $28.89
Hourly minimum wage: $17.50

7. Los Angeles

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $26.81
Hourly minimum wage: $16.90 ($20 for fast food workers)

8. Atlanta

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $26.63
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

9. Denver

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $25.85
Hourly minimum wage: $18.29

10. Portland, Oregon

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $25.67
Hourly minimum wage: $15.45

11. Orlando

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $25.51
Hourly minimum wage: $12

12. Inland Empire, California

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $25.34
Hourly minimum wage: $16 ($20 for fast food workers)

13. Miami

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $24.97
Hourly minimum wage: $12

14. Phoenix

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $24.78
Hourly minimum wage: $14.35

15. Charlotte

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $24.48
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

16. Tampa Bay

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $24.32
Hourly minimum wage: $12

17. Dallas

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $23.84
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

18. Chicago

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $23.72
Hourly minimum wage: $15 (for most workers)

19. Philadelphia

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $23.39
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

20. Baltimore

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $23.13
Hourly minimum wage: $15

21. Minneapolis-St. Paul

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $22.81
Hourly minimum wage: $15.57 (starting July 1)

22. Houston

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $21.56
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

23. St. Louis

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $20.39
Hourly minimum wage: $12.30

24. San Antonio

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $20.29
Hourly minimum wage: $7.25

25. Detroit

Hourly wage to cover basic costs: $19.70
Hourly minimum wage: $10.33

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