What does it cost for a family of 4 to get by in America? $84K in #SF area, $94K in NYC, $79K in #NHV: http://t.co/f07GH2XpPn #BARTstrike
— urbandata (@urbandata) July 19, 2013
Article Written by Ian Applegate.If you're a family of four (2 parents 2 kids) not drawing six figures, and you live in New York City, you don't need a calculator to know that you're financially strapped.
What about New Haven? According to this calculator, a single parent with one child needs to be making at least $61k/year in order to be comfortable.
Depending on where you live, your income can have a significant impact on whether or not the Economic Policy Institute thinks you're living comfortably. These numbers can vary dramatically from city to city, with some urban metropolises, such as NYC, where it might cost $93,000 to be "comfortable."
The family size options were one or two parents, and one, two or three kids. They did not include nephews, neices, or uncles who can occasionally provide free child care.
New Haven - Meriden CT HUD Metro FMR Area
Source: http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/
One Parent, One Child
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly Housing | $1316 |
| Monthly Food | $369 |
| Monthly Child Care | $899 |
| Monthly Transportation | $480 |
| Monthly Health Care | $974 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $431 |
| Monthly Taxes | $658 |
| Monthly Total | $5128 |
| Annual Total | $61534 |
(in NYC it's 67,153)
One parent, Two Children
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly Housing | $1316 |
| Monthly Food | $546 |
| Monthly Child Care | $1360 |
| Monthly Transportation | $480 |
| Monthly Health Care | $1401 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $477 |
| Monthly Taxes | $727 |
| Monthly Total | $6307 |
| Annual Total | $75683 |
One Parent, Three Children
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly Housing | $1639 |
| Monthly Food | $735 |
| Monthly Child Care | $1821 |
| Monthly Transportation | $480 |
| Monthly Health Care | $1454 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $608 |
| Monthly Taxes | $1037 |
| Monthly Total | $7773 |
| Annual Total | $93280 |
Two Parents, One Child
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly Housing | $1316 |
| Monthly Food | $598 |
| Monthly Child Care | $899 |
| Monthly Transportation | $607 |
| Monthly Health Care | $1399 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $490 |
| Monthly Taxes | $541 |
| Monthly Total | $5850 |
| Annual Total | $70204 |
Two Parents, Two Children
| Monthly Housing | $1316 |
| Monthly Food | $754 |
| Monthly Child Care | $1360 |
| Monthly Transportation | $607 |
| Monthly Health Care | $1451 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $530 |
| Monthly Taxes | $597 |
| Monthly Total | $6615 |
| Annual Total | $79381 (in NYC it's 93,502) |
Two Parents, Three Children
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly Housing | $1639 |
| Monthly Food | $921 |
| Monthly Child Care | $1821 |
| Monthly Transportation | $607 |
| Monthly Health Care | $1504 |
| Monthly Other Necessities | $655 |
| Monthly Taxes | $811 |
| Monthly Total | $7958 |
| Annual Total | $95496 |
