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American Military News
11 hours ago
- Business
- American Military News
Adults making under $80K can't afford to live comfortably in any state: report
A single adult earning less than $80,000 per year cannot afford to live comfortably in a single U.S. state, a new report found. The report, released by SmartAsset on June 4, also revealed that families of four must earn more than $200,000 to live comfortably in nearly every state. To reach these conclusions, SmartAsset — a personal finance site — used data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator to quantify the baseline costs of living for single adults and families with two adults and two children. Factoring into these costs are housing, transportation, taxes and other items. Using these baseline costs, the site then applied the 50/30/20 budgeting rule — under which 50% of income goes toward necessities, 30% goes toward discretionary spending and 20% goes toward savings, debt or investments. Single adults The report found that West Virginia is the most affordable state for single adults, with a salary of $80,829 being enough to live comfortably. In 18 other states, adults earning between $80,000 and $90,000 would be able to afford a reasonable and sustainable lifestyle. Among them were Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and New Mexico. The remaining 31 states require salaries above $90,000, and 15 of these — most of which are located on the coasts — require salaries exceeding $100,000. The most expensive state was Hawaii, where a single adult would require an income of $124,467 to live comfortably. This was followed by Massachusetts ($120,141), California ($119,475) and New York ($114,691). Overall, the report also found that an individual in any state needs to earn roughly $5,844 more this year than last year in order to have a comfortable budget. Families of four For a family of four with two working adults, the most affordable state to live in is Mississippi, the report found. Here, an income of $186,618 is required to live comfortably. This figure fell below $200,000 in just six other states: Kentucky ($192,941), Arkansas ($193,773), Alabama ($194,522), West Virginia ($195,354), South Dakota ($197,933) and Louisiana ($199,597). Meanwhile, the most expensive state for a family of four was Massachusetts, where an income of $313,747 was required to live comfortably. This was followed by Hawaii ($294,362), Connecticut ($290,368) and California ($287,456). Overall, a family of four in any of the 50 states needs to bring in about $9,360 more than the previous year in order to have a comfortable budget. ___ © 2025 The Charlotte Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Adults making under $80K can't afford to live comfortably in any state: report
A single adult earning less than $80,000 per year cannot afford to live comfortably in a single U.S. state, a new report found. The report, released by SmartAsset on June 4, also revealed that families of four must earn more than $200,000 to live comfortably in nearly every state. To reach these conclusions, SmartAsset — a personal finance site — used data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator to quantify the baseline costs of living for single adults and families with two adults and two children. Factoring into these costs are housing, transportation, taxes and other items. Using these baseline costs, the site then applied the 50/30/20 budgeting rule — under which 50% of income goes toward necessities, 30% goes toward discretionary spending and 20% goes toward savings, debt or investments. Single adults The report found that West Virginia is the most affordable state for single adults, with a salary of $80,829 being enough to live comfortably. In 18 other states, adults earning between $80,000 and $90,000 would be able to afford a reasonable and sustainable lifestyle. Among them were Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and New Mexico. The remaining 31 states require salaries above $90,000, and 15 of these — most of which are located on the coasts — require salaries exceeding $100,000. The most expensive state was Hawaii, where a single adult would require an income of $124,467 to live comfortably. This was followed by Massachusetts ($120,141), California ($119,475) and New York ($114,691). Overall, the report also found that an individual in any state needs to earn roughly $5,844 more this year than last year in order to have a comfortable budget. Families of four For a family of four with two working adults, the most affordable state to live in is Mississippi, the report found. Here, an income of $186,618 is required to live comfortably. This figure fell below $200,000 in just six other states: Kentucky ($192,941), Arkansas ($193,773), Alabama ($194,522), West Virginia ($195,354), South Dakota ($197,933) and Louisiana ($199,597). Meanwhile, the most expensive state for a family of four was Massachusetts, where an income of $313,747 was required to live comfortably. This was followed by Hawaii ($294,362), Connecticut ($290,368) and California ($287,456). Overall, a family of four in any of the 50 states needs to bring in about $9,360 more than the previous year in order to have a comfortable budget.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How many in Nashville earn less than a living wage? New report details the 'high cost of low wages'
Hundreds of thousands of workers in Nashville's top 20 occupations earn less than the area's living wage, a third of students in Metro Nashville Public Schools are economically disadvantaged, and about one in five kids in Nashville don't have enough to eat. These are just a few of the statistics highlighted in Metro Social Services' latest Community Needs Evaluation, a report on Nashville's socioeconomic well-being published by the office annually. The office released the full report on May 14 and unveiled it during an event in western Nashville. This year, the report focuses on 'the high cost of low wages' in Nashville — that is, that the city experiences a high cost of living because of its large number of low-wage jobs. 'Like so much of our work, responding on the topic of wages will require a network of partners larger than Metro,' Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell said at the event. 'We will be working to share this evaluation broadly, to make sure people understand the high cost of low wages.' Here's a look at some of the highlights of the report, which is available to view in full on the city's website. The report lays out the difference between a 'living wage' — defined as what a full-time worker needs to earn to cover the costs of their basic needs — and federal poverty guidelines. To calculate that difference, the office utilized the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a widely used tool aimed at addressing cost of living disparities in American cities. What the research team behind the report found was that a single, childless worker living in Davidson County requires an annual income of $52,858 to achieve a living wage — a number more than three times higher than the federal poverty guideline for the same individual, which is just $15,650. 'The official poverty guidelines used by the federal government are highly inadequate in relation to the ways that economic hardship is experienced by a large portion of the Davidson County population,' the report reads. The report calls the federal poverty guideline, which is based on a calculation established in the 1960s, as 'outdated and misleading.' In part, that's because official poverty guidelines make no distinction between urban and rural areas, and as a result don't account for regional cost of living differences. That means when an individual or family does manage to earn enough money to achieve a living wage, they've fallen off what the report refers to as 'the benefits cliff' — when an increased income triggers an abrupt loss of public benefits, which typically are tied not to a region's living wage but to the federal poverty rate. The report notes that 326,000 workers employed in the Nashville area's top 20 occupations are hanging off that cliff. That's because they're earning a wage well under the area's living wage, but not nearly low enough to qualify for poverty relief programs. For example, the largest group of workers — 37,980 laborers who move freight, stock and other materials — earn an annual median wage of just $39,350. No group in the top 20 area occupations, ranging from retail and fast food workers to security guards and construction laborers, earns an annual median wage higher than $49,090. The report notes this is because Nashville's economy is closely tied to low-paying job sectors like tourism, retail, health service and transportation, exasperated by further demand for low-wage service jobs as high-paying technology jobs and corporate headquarters move into the community. Many of those workers face worse health outcomes, the report reads. Overall, 16.2% of Nashville workers earning $25,000 to $50,000 lack health insurance, and one in five Davidson County residents experiences poor or fair health — worse than that of the state of Tennessee or the nation. Other knock-on effects of low wages, according to the report, lead to instability in more ways than just inside Nashvillians' wallets. Along with lacking savings both in case of an emergency and toward retirement, low wages can lead to food insecurity. In Nashville, that means one out of every five kids doesn't have enough to eat. For families with kids, rising child care costs may also be an insurmountable cost. And that all leads to intergenerational impacts, according to the report. Kids in living wage poverty are more likely to be in poorer health than other children. They also see lower levels of educational attainment, coupled with higher high school dropout rates. In the report, that's reflected in the rate of MNPS students who are economically disadvantaged — 32% of them, who collectively went to college at a rate of 39.3% in the 2023 graduating class, compared to a 65.3% rate for their non-disadvantaged peers. With limited access to employment opportunities, the report notes, those individuals can end up with fewer positive role models and higher rates of incarceration and violence. Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@ Get Davidson County news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 326,000 Nashville workers earn less than a living wage, report finds
Miami Herald
24-03-2025
- Lifestyle
- Miami Herald
How much does your living wage need to be to make it in Miami? Hint: It's going up
The cost of living in Miami-Dade with, and without, children went up again for 2025. You're going to need about $2,000 to $4,000 a year more in 2025 compared with 2024 for couples. The amounts differ on whether one partner is working or both are. Also, the living wage requirement rises depending on the number of children you have, from one to three, and varies if you're single. The latest Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator cobbles together figures for the basic cost of living for singles and couples in every state. The data includes housing, food, transportation, childcare and other costs. According to World Population Review, using Living Wage figures, Hawaii was the most expensive state in terms of required living wage. Massachusetts, California and New York were near the top. West Virginia was the least expensive. Florida came somewhere in the middle at 23rd place. What is a living wage? A living wage, defined by MIT, 'is what one full-time worker must earn on an hourly basis to help cover the cost of their family's minimum basic needs where they live while still being self-sufficient.' The wage takes into account expenses for basic needs like childcare, food, healthcare, housing, internet and cell service, transportation, civic engagement and other necessities. The living wage and minimum wage differ — living wage factors in basic expenses while minimum wage is set by state law. The current hourly minimum wage in Florida is $13 and is set to rise to $14 after Sept. 30 and $15 one year later in October 2026. READ MORE: Is it more expensive to buy a house in Miami? Are condo sales still down? Take a look How much in Miami-Dade County? Here is how much people in Miami-Dade need to earn as an hourly wage and annual pre-tax income to cover basic necessities in 2025, according to the Living Wage Calculator. The wages depend on how many of the adults are working and how many children there are in the family. Singles ▪ One adult and no children: hourly wage $24.77; annual salary $51,528. ▪ One adult and one child: hourly wage $40.55; annual salary $84,344. ▪ One adult and two children: hourly wage $49.02; annual salary $101,962. ▪ One adult and three children: hourly wage $61.92; $128,787. Couples ▪ Two adults with one working, no children: hourly wage $33.58; annual salary $69,850. ▪ Two adults with one working, one child: hourly wage $40.06; annual salary $83,334. ▪ Two adults with one working, two children: hourly wage $43.52; annual salary $90,529. ▪ Two adults with one working, three children: hourly wage $51.08; annual salary $106,252. ▪ Two adults with both working, no children: hourly wage $16.70; annual salary $69,850. ▪ Two adults with both working, one child: hourly wage $22.68; annual salary $94,368. ▪ Two adults with both working, two children: hourly wage $26.82; annual salary $111,588. ▪ Two adults with both working, three children: hourly wage $32.45; annual salary $134,987. KNOW MORE: Renters are paying less for apartments in Miami, but there are issues. See the costs How much in Florida? Here's how Florida compares, overall. Miami-Dade, with its higher living expenses, requires a higher income level than the state. Singles ▪ One adult and no children: hourly wage $23.41; annual salary $48,863. ▪ One adult and one child: hourly wage $38.72; annual salary $80,539. ▪ One adult and two children: hourly wage $49.02; annual salary $98,855. ▪ One adult and three children: hourly wage $59,644; $124,044. Couples ▪ Two adults with one working, no children: hourly wage $32.06; annual salary $66,692. ▪ Two adults with one working, one child: hourly wage $40.06; annual salary $78,993. ▪ Two adults with one working, two children: hourly wage $41.50; annual salary $86,312. ▪ Two adults with one working, three children: hourly wage $51.08; annual salary $100,631. ▪ Two adults with both working, no children: hourly wage $16.03; annual salary $66,292. ▪ Two adults with both working, one child: hourly wage $21.81; annual salary $90,724. ▪ Two adults with both working, two children: hourly wage $26.16; annual salary $108,812. ▪ Two adults with both working, three children: hourly wage $31.35; annual salary $130,434.
The Hill
20-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Are you earning enough to ‘live comfortably' in these cities?
(NEXSTAR) — While inflation is cooling, the cost of various items remains high. So high, a record number of Americans are working more than one job, according to the latest federal data. Though you may be earning a slightly larger paycheck this year, it may still not be enough to 'live comfortably.' A new report from personal finance site SmartAsset reviewed what it takes to live a comfortable financial life in the 100 largest cities in the U.S. The study used the estimated living wage needed for various family sizes, produced by the MIT Living Wage Calculator, and applied it to the 50/30/20 budgeting method. The rule suggests that half of your budget should cover your needs, 30% goes toward 'wants,' and 20% for debt, saving, or investing. By using the estimated living wage as the money necessary to cover 'needs,' SmartAsset calculated the necessary salary to cover the other half of the budget (wants and debt or savings). While MIT provides living wage estimates for 12 different family structures, SmartAsset focused on two: one adult with no children, and two working adults with two children. The analysis found that cities primarily in the south and southeastern part of the country are the most affordable, with no city serving as the most affordable option for both single adults and working families (last year, Houston secured that title). Across the nation's largest cities, Indianapolis ranked as the most affordable for a single adult, according to SmartAsset. There, you need only to earn $85,197 a year to afford your wants, needs, and savings goals. The Indiana city narrowly edged out Oklahoma City by less than $250. Indianapolis isn't affordable enough for a family of four, however. With a necessary estimated salary of around $222,700, it ranked at No. 28 overall. Instead, it was Memphis, Tennessee, that SmartAsset determined would offer the most affordable life for a family. There, a combined salary of just under $198,400 could supply a family with enough to live out the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. Only three other cities were found to have necessary salaries that fall below $200,000: Greensboro, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Below are the cities where 'living comfortably' is most affordable for a single adult and a family of four where both adults are working: As it did last year, SmartAsset found that cities on both coasts are drastically more expensive for single people and a family of four. For both family sizes, San Jose, California, ranks as the most expensive. An individual would need to earn slightly over $147,400 to live comfortably while a family of four would require over $371,500. SmartAsset's analysis found five of the most expensive metro areas for individuals and four for a family of four are in California. Below are the cities where it is most expensive to live comfortably: For nearly all cities, it costs more to 'live comfortably' than it did last year. A family of four in San Jose, for example, needs roughly $37,000 more compared to SmartAsset's 2024 report. The same family in Arlington, Virginia, would require nearly $40,000 more than last year. Of the cities listed above, only New York saw its estimated necessary salary drop. Last year, it was the most expensive metro for a single adult at more than $138,500 — that's roughly $2,000 higher than this year's estimate. You can view SmartAsset's full list here. Don't see your city listed? You can find your city, county or state on MIT's Living Wage Calculator, then find the required annual income after taxes and multiply it by two. Nationally, SmartAsset found that the salary necessary to avoid living paycheck to paycheck in the largest metros is above the median household by about $5,000. Earlier this month, a measure of consumer sentiment fell sharply for the third straight month and is now down more than 20% since December. Respondents to the University of Michigan's survey cited policy uncertainty as a leading reason for the gloomier outlook. While the respondents were divided sharply by party — sentiment about the current economy fell among Republican by much less than for Democrats — Republicans' confidence in the economy's future dropped 10%. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
