Study: Bay Area families need $134,000 to cover basic needs

Axios

05-05-2025

A family of four needs $134,211 per year on average to afford basic needs in the Bay Area, according to a new study that paints a bleak picture amid a deteriorating economic outlook.
The big picture: As the Bay Area's cost of living has outpaced affordability, 27% of households here are struggling to meet basic needs, per the new analysis by anti-poverty nonprofit United Ways of California. That's almost 674,000 households.
By the numbers: The $134,211 average for basic needs, what United Way calls the real cost measure (RCM), is an increase of nearly $15,000 since it was last calculated in 2023.
A household would need to hold more than three full-time, minimum-wage jobs to achieve economic security for a family of four in the Bay Area.
Meanwhile, the average household income in the region is just under $130,000, and 36% of all households spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Latinos and African Americans are disproportionately represented among households with incomes under the RCM.
Zoom in: San Francisco, where the average household income is about $139,000, has the highest RCM among Bay Area counties.
A family of four needs nearly $162,823 per year on average to afford basic needs.
For two adults, it's $87,762.
What they're saying:"No working household should be on the threshold of poverty with this annual salary. Yet, even with two working adults, people are still struggling," Keisha Browder, CEO of United Way Bay Area, told Axios.
While measures like increasing the minimum wage and supporting tax credits have put money back in Californians' pockets, "more must be done to close the gap between wages and the real cost of living," Browder said, pointing to coordinated philanthropy as an increasingly important source.
Between the lines: Unlike the federal poverty level, which is based primarily on food costs, the RCM provides a more accurate reflection of the cost of living, according to Browder.
How it works: The study examines the prices of housing, health care, child care, transportation and taxes.
Calculations are based on a configuration of two adults, one infant and one school-aged child, though other household types are included in its research database.
Friction point: The findings come as San Francisco struggles with looming budget cuts that could impact public assistance and grant programs.
Local nonprofits and community-based organizations have warned that Mayor Daniel Lurie's proposed cuts will increase the risk of youth exploitation, domestic violence and homelessness.
The latest: At a City Hall hearing last Wednesday, Soma Pilipinas project manager Raquel Redondiez called on officials to not defund "the community infrastructure that the city relied on during the pandemic," saying the alternative will harm SF's most vulnerable residents.
Attorney Emberly Cross of the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic echoed the sentiment, asking officials to tell her "which of the 516 domestic violence survivors and their children the city wants to not receive legal services next year."