How much does it cost to live in your area?
One of the most fascinating tools I have come across recently is the living wage calculator from MIT.
You should check it out asap and it tells a compelling story.
How much does it take to live in your area?
Easy. Select your state and area and the calculator does its magic.
“Today, families and individuals working in low-wage jobs make too little income to meet minimum standards of living in their community. But just how much do families need to meet these standards?”
“At its simplest, a living wage 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.”
All of this is part of the complicated nature of understanding how we create economic stability for people in all parts of the country and it isn’t as simple as just moving to a lower cost of living area.
For example, 3 very different parts of the country I have lived in do not vary as widely as you might think and often there can be wage correlation to lower cost of living areas.
Here is the required income for 2 adults working with 3 children for “Minimum basic needs.”
Eastern Washington: $142,725
Louisville, Kentucky: $127,894
Los Angeles, California: $167,556
One of my favorite works on the issue of rising costs in America is the book The Overspent American by Juliet Schor as it outlines the rising cost of necessary items for living over the course of US history.
As always, if you come across a financially related article you’d like to send my way please do!
Best place to send them is to me.
More next time!
Jonathan