An NRI entrepreneur has sparked discussion online after estimating how much a family of four would need to earn annually to live comfortably in major US cities while on an H-1B visa.
Aniruddha Anjana, a US startup founder who returned to India after spending around 10 years in America, shared the numbers in an Instagram post.
According to his calculations, a family with two adults and two children would need an annual income of about $407,597 in San Francisco to live comfortably in 2026.
San Jose follows closely at $402,771, while Boston requires around $368,742.
The estimated annual incomes for other major cities are $337,875 in New York, $334,131 in Seattle, $319,405 in Washington DC, $242,278 in Chicago, $229,050 in Austin, $214,490 in Dallas and $204,672 in Houston.
Anjana pointed out that even Houston, considered relatively affordable among major US cities, would require an income of more than $200,000 a year for a family of four under his definition of comfortable living.
He said his calculations are based on the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, under which 50 per cent of income goes towards essential expenses, 30 per cent towards wants such as travel and entertainment, and 20 per cent towards savings and investments.
According to him, many H-1B salaries, particularly outside the big-tech sector, may fall well below these levels.
Anjana said this gap often becomes clear only after families move to the US, where housing, childcare, healthcare and other living costs can significantly reduce the value of what may initially appear to be a high salary.
Sharing his own experience, he said he eventually started a US-based company and returned to India to run it.
He described the move as a financial advantage because he now earns in dollars while spending largely in rupees.
According to Anjana, this arrangement gives him more flexibility and allows him to travel to the US on his own terms.
His post has once again highlighted the growing debate around the real cost of the “American dream,” especially for immigrant professionals raising families in expensive US cities.
