How much money it takes to live comfortably in the 50 biggest US cities

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Unless you're tracking expenses carefully, it can be hard to tell whether your city's cost of living or your own spending habits are the cause of your financial troubles.

Using the 50-30-20 budgeting rule, for example — in which 50 percent of income covers necessities, 30 percent is for discretionary items and 20 percent is saved — you can quickly determine whether your income is sufficient to cover expenses for living in your city. If it isn't, you might have to cut costs or maybe even move.

GoBankingRates conducted a cost-of-living comparison of the 75 most populous U.S. cities, surveying dollar amounts of living expenses including rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and healthcare. This total, which accounts for necessities, was then doubled to find how much money a single person needs to earn in that city to follow a 50-30-20 budget. This study also compares the total amount of income needed to the actual median household income in each city to see if differences in cost of living are matched by differences in pay.

(Visit GoBankingRates for the complete list and methodology.)

Click through to see how much money you'd need to earn to live comfortably, before taxes, in the biggest cities across the U.S. The cities are listed in order of population from smallest to largest.

Related: The 10 States Most and Least Likely to Live Paycheck to Paycheck

Bakersfield, CA: $43,425

Income needed: $43,425
50 percent for necessities: $21,713
30 percent for discretionary spending: $13,028
20 percent for savings: $8,685

Based on the median household income of $56,842, Bakersfield, residents have an extra $13,416 more each year than what is needed to live comfortably.

Read: 35 Life Hacks That Will Save You Thousands

Arlington, TX: $46,904

Income needed: $46,904
50 percent for necessities: $23,452
30 percent for discretionary spending: $14,071
20 percent for savings: $9,381

Arlington has a local median income of $53,055, which is $6,151 more than the income needed to live comfortably in this city.

New Orleans, LA: $60,782

Income needed: $60,782
50 percent for necessities: $30,391
30 percent for discretionary spending: $18,235
20 percent for savings: $12,156

The median household income in New Orleans is just $36,964, which is not much compared to the city's high cost of living. That income falls $23,818 short of the income needed to live well in The Big Easy.