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I live a little north of Flint, Michigan...I just checked and the average household income for my zip code is a little over $20,000. Yes, it's a poor area generally, with pockets of wealth and upscale dotted about. I know my area isn't on the list, but COL is comparable to Detroit here. With much less city sprawl.
I'm single and make about $35K....I don't feel "middle class" but I own two homes (one outright), taxes generally are low here, decent single family homes or apartments are in the $500-600 range for rent and property values are ridiculously low. I'm talking for decent areas, not ghetto.
But I agree with those that said there are really too many variables to define "living wage" neatly. A single person living within their means can live quite well on about $20K around here, IMO. Of course you have to find a job....
I'm sorta retired. I live alone. My house and vehicles are paid all for. No debt. I'm doing fine. (tell your Mom's)
The basic annual modest living expenses I have come out to about $30,000.
That includes an unpaid accounting charge to myself for the cash I have tied up in the house (vs being in a CD or such)
But any income tax they might force me to pay and the travel to Italy in Summer money is not in that.
So gross 'wages' to cover everything would need to be in the range of $40,000.
There's a lot of talk about "living wages" on this forum. So, what would you consider the lowest possible wage to be a good living wage (middle class) in the following major cities? I tried to pick cities that represent every geographic region of the US. My estimates are listed below in red. Feel free to change them to your choices.
Estimates are in yearly salary
NYC - $80k
DC/MD/VA - $65k
Boston/New England - $65K
LA/SD/SoCal - $75k
Detroit - $45k
Chicago - $60k
Miami - $50k
Nashville - $40k
Atlanta - $45k
Denver/Mountain West - $55k
Seattle - $60k
San Francisco - $70k
Phoenix - $50k
This is a joke, right? Do you even know what living wage means?
Divide those numbers by 3 and you're close. I lived quite comfortably in Seattle on $35,000 a year when I was just out of school.
Quote:
$15/hr is probably the lowest living wage in LA (for a single person). See the rough calculations below:
$15/hr = $31,200 per year
Fed tax: $2,830
State tax: $1,008
SS/Medicare: $2,387
Net Income: $2,080 per month
Expenses:
Housing $600 (room with paid utilities in a house in decent neighborhood)
Food $300 (could be a lot less if you buy cheap food... or a lot more...)
Car Payment $200
Gas/Car Maintenance $200
Car Insurance $100
401K $250
Emergency $50
Misc. $100
Entertainment $100
Cell Phone $50
Leftover $130
This assumes you do not have student loans or have to pay for health insurance. Most people do have to contribute something towards one of these, so that would bump the living wage up a couple dollars per hour.
Ditch the car and 401k. We're talking living wage not lowest wage while pretending to be middle class. Living wage is closer to $11.40, assuming you have medical insurance.
Ditch the car and 401k. We're talking living wage not lowest wage while pretending to be middle class. Living wage is closer to $11.40, assuming you have medical insurance.
I agree, if you ditch the car and 401k, you could live off of $11.40 in LA.
EDIT: However, what would be the long term consequences? Imagine being 70 years old and having absolutely no savings and nothing to your name. You will work until the day you die.
Yep, but I imagine it is not "average" when it comes to how "nice" the property is, square footage, location, etc. so that is why it is a low rent. Absolutely, I agree there will be places with much higher rent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigKahuna
"that CA sunshine costs a pile"
That's what my son said when he was in San Luis (at Poly) and using other peoples money to pay the rent...
but now that he's in Santa Barbara and actually paying his own way it's beginning to settle in on him
just how expensive that sunshine really is. I won't do it.
Yup, I'd probably practice up and try to get a job on the seniors target shooting circuit as well, good money there plus you are bringing home GILFs all you can handle.
This is a joke, right? Do you even know what living wage means?
Divide those numbers by 3 and you're close. I lived quite comfortably in Seattle on $35,000 a year when I was just out of school.
Ditch the car and 401k. We're talking living wage not lowest wage while pretending to be middle class. Living wage is closer to $11.40, assuming you have medical insurance.
The criteria set is that you have to be able to rent or own your own place. Making $11.40 an hour would bring you a pre tax income of $456 a week or an average of $23,712 a year pre tax. Lets say that you didn't pay any taxes. That would give you on average $1,976 a month. Many places won't rent to you unless you make 3 X the rent. Just wondering where you will find a place for $658 a month? You could rent a room, but that doesn't fit the criteria given for this exercise.
From my limited point of view a living wage should accomplish the bare neccesity of allowing you to maintain at least a rental on your own that is not shared with others. A living wage would allow you the ability to pay for your own transportation. A living wage should allow you to purchase real food and not have you living on Top Ramen. With a medium rental amount for a 1 bedroom place in the LA area at $1,300 or so ( based on rentVine's figures) you would need an income of $3,900 a month or $46,800 a year, nearly double the $23,712 a year you would have earned at the $11.40 an hour range.
Also living in the LA area without transportation is not the best idea. I guess you could live near your work. Sure it is possible to get by without your own wheels, just difficult.
I guess people have a hard time understanding simple words. If they read the OP, they would realize that I'm not making a claim here. These are my opinions and I specifically asked that you add yours so we can get a good idea about what is and what isn't. Too many drama queens on this board want to start a war of words over something so trivial. Why do I start threads on here anyway? To have a bunch of old, whiny people complain that I'm wrong and they're right. This IS NOT ABOUT THAT PEOPLE!!!! I'm done! Do with this thread what you want.
I guess people have a hard time understanding simple words. If they read the OP, they would realize that I'm not making a claim here. These are my opinions and I specifically asked that you add yours so we can get a good idea about what is and what isn't. Too many drama queens on this board want to start a war of words over something so trivial. Why do I start threads on here anyway? To have a bunch of old, whiny people complain that I'm wrong and they're right. This IS NOT ABOUT THAT PEOPLE!!!! I'm done! Do with this thread what you want.
You are wrong.
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Yes, it's a poor area generally, with pockets of wealth and upscale dotted about. I know my area isn't on the list, but COL is comparable to Detroit here. With much less city sprawl.
I'm done! Do with this thread what you want.
