A calculation method has been established in order to know the remuneration to be obtained for living without worrying about your bank account.
Keeping accounts down to the penny is the daily life of millions of French people. Every day, in many homes, the calculator is out to do the shopping, pay the bills and try to find a little financial windfall for leisure. This puzzle, part of the population does not know it because of a certain ease on the bank account. Without having millions of euros aside, these households can afford to live without paying too much attention and by granting themselves a few deviations. However, the lifestyle is not the same between Paris and Guéret. From the capital to the prefecture of Creuse, the income required to be able to live comfortably is not the same.
The Inequalities Observatory, by dividing the population according to the wages and aid received, has made it possible to establish a threshold of financial affluence. In its last report of May 2023, the organization estimates that from 2693€ monthly, a single person is part of the wealthy class. An amount that increases mechanically depending on the situation (alone or as a couple, with or without children, etc.).
| single person | Single parent family | childless couple | Couple with a child under 14 | Couple with two children over 14 years old | |
| Affluent class threshold | 2693€ | 3501€ | 4040€ | 4847€ | 6733€ |
Up to 50% difference with Paris
However, this is only a national average. Between metropolises and medium-sized municipalities, the income necessary to have a daily life without financial hassle inevitably varies. According to the formula of the Observatory of Inequalities, 43% must be added to the median standard of living of each municipality to obtain the corresponding amount. The result obtained is an average over all the situations. Here is the result for the ten largest cities in France and five other prefectures chosen to give a representation of France by mixing large metropolises and medium-sized provincial towns. These figures, obtained from INSEE data to which 43% have been added, are given for a single person:
- Paris: €3,404.59
- Marseilles: €2,308.26
- Lyon: €2,877.88
- Toulouse: €2,554.93
- Nice: €2,446.49
- Nantes: €2,736.07
- Montpellier: €2,248.68
- Strasbourg: €2,290.38
- Burgundy: €2,783.73
- Lille: €2,333.28
- Bourg-en-Bresse: €2,298.73
- Charleville-Mezieres: €2,129.51
- Bastia: €2,318.98
- Gueret: €2,415.51
- Mende: €2,600.22
The gap can be striking: between the big cities and the prefectures of more rural departments, a gap of up to 50% is displayed! When you have to earn less than two SMICs in Charleville-Mézières in order to have an easy lifestyle, you need almost three in Paris. Symbol that financial well-being truly depends on one’s living environment…