How much does a family need to earn in the US? NRI breaks down H-1B salaries

An NRI entrepreneur has sparked discussion by outlining the annual income a family of four would need in 10 major US cities to live comfortably on an H-1B visa. Aniruddha Anjana, a US startup owner who previously lived in America for a decade, shared his calculations on Instagram. He estimated that a household with two adults and two children would require $407,597 (Rs 3.90 crore) annually in San Francisco, $402,771 (Rs 3.85 crore) in San Jose, and $368,742 (Rs 3.53 crore) in Boston for a comfortable lifestyle in 2026.

The rest of the cities listed and their respective estimated salaries are New York ($337,875 or Rs 3.22 crore), Seattle ($334,131 or Rs 3.19 crore), Washington DC ($319,405 or Rs 3.05 crore), Chicago ($242,278 or Rs 2.31 crore), Austin ($229,050 or Rs 2.18 crore), Dallas ($214,490 or Rs 2.05 crore), and Houston ($204,672 or Rs 1.95 crore).

Anjana based his estimates on the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, wherein half of the income covers fixed expenses, 30 percent is for discretionary spending, and the remaining 20 percent is set aside for investments. He also shared his own experience of working in the US and eventually moving back to India, stating that despite the higher salaries, the overall cost often made them insufficient for a comfortable family budget.