In the two most expensive states to live, single Americans need to earn over $108,000 and $84,000. On the flip side, singles can get by with just $47,500 in a handful of states.
"GOBankingRates then isolated the itemized costs of housing, groceries, utilities, health care, and transportation, collectively termed … ‘necessities,’" said Andrew Murray, lead content data researcher with ConsumerTrack Inc., parent company of GOBankingRates.
The platform then factored these costs to state level using the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2023 Q1 Cost of Living data series, Murray said.Next, GOBankingRates calculated the annual cost of each necessity and summed them up to find a total annual expenditure for necessities.
Living wage is defined as the income required to be able to cover 50% necessities, 30% discretionary/luxury spending and 20% for savings, according to Murray."Hawaii, Massachusetts, California and New York are also the top four cost states we found," Murray told FOX Business. "Hawaii and Alaska also probably have high prices due to their relative isolation from the rest of the 48 states, thus costing more to ship and import/export goods."The most affordable states for singles, where a single person will only need to make $45,906 a year to earn a living wage, according to GOBankingRate’s formula and analysis.
Gulfport, Miss., was named the most affordable beach town in America and is known for its reasonably priced homes and authentic culture.