Is 25,000 a year a very low wage in Atlanta? (how much, salary)

[Big L]

It is low even for Atlanta. It is not totally impossible, but your options would be very limited. If you are childless, then you just need to get a cheap, 1-bedroom and go from there. If your car is paid off, try to keep it as long as possible. If not, try to keep your note low until your salary increases. You probably already know to limit your other expenses if possible.


You can survive, but truth be told you will cut it close every check.

[SAAN]

Sadly many jobs try to pay people $25K in Atlanta. Its not uncommon to see tech support paying $10-13 hrs now adays. I could even picture working $8-10hr in retail and how people even survive off that.

[krogerDisco]

Yes. You might make it car-less and sharing an apartment.

[golden eagles fan]

I live in Mississippi and I find $25k to be low here, much less Atlanta.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by BROWNMAN20

Ok, I live in Atlanta. Do you consider this a low wage for Atlanta?

I consider it a low wage for myself and my expenses, but I dont know the life you live. 25,000 annually is not much unless you are sharing expenses with others. Money isnt everything though.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by fieldm

You can survive here with that as long as you spend your money right and don't have any student loans or any major debt.

You can get a one bedroom not In the hood for $650 if you know where to look

I agree they can Survive here on 25K. I dont know if they can avoid the hood though unless they move deep in the burbs.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by SAAN

Sadly many jobs try to pay people $25K in Atlanta. Its not uncommon to see tech support paying $10-13 hrs now adays. I could even picture working $8-10hr in retail and how people even survive off that.

That is because people keep moving here. People keep champion people moving to Atlanta. All these employers are aware of this and they KNOW people are willing to work for oxygen & peanuts, but dont tell that to the "highly educated" types on this forum. In order for wages to go up, population growth needs to slow down.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by BROWNMAN20

Ok, I live in Atlanta. Do you consider this a low wage for Atlanta?

It's not the worst but yes, it is a very low wage for Atlanta. I have lived in cheaper cities (not city city but the outskirts of the city) and was barely able to save money. I earned a little bit more than that at the time and had a one-bedroom apartment. Can't tell you how cheap I was and even then, it was hard to save up.

In Atl with that kind of earning, you will have to either live with family and hope you can contribute just towards groceries or live in an apartment that has 3 rooms or a house that has at least 3 rooms (you will need to have roommates). I say this considering you have a car or will want to have a car. I am also thinking you will want to save up some kind of money to better your situation. I would seriously consider a house with at least 3 bedrooms that way you may not have to pay more than $400 including utilities. This house would obviously be small. I hate to give you these options but they are the only ones I can think of with that kind of wage (and also leaving the possibility of you being able to save up some money for a rainy day/bettering your situation).

I really hope you can one day earn more than that because it isn't easy living.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by 0nyxStation

That is because people keep moving here. People keep champion people moving to Atlanta. All these employers are aware of this and they KNOW people are willing to work for oxygen & peanuts, but dont tell that to the "highly educated" types on this forum. In order for wages to go up, population growth needs to slow down.

There is a lot of truth to that. It's the whole supply and demand thing. Supposedly unemployment is so low that retailers are begging for workers but I've worked in retail and I see no such thing. To me, they are still able to pick and choose. As for other industries, I work in one where I was paid over 1 1/2 times the amount in another city with a lower cost of living and even that was considered a low wage.

The Southeast period has low wages. I don't even know if population growth is the only reason behind it.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by 0nyxStation

I agree they can Survive here on 25K. I dont know if they can avoid the hood though unless they move deep in the burbs.

Yeah, they probably would have to go to the hood unless they do what I suggested above. I used to have an apartment in the suburbs and they will tell you that you need to earn at least 3 times what the rent is or have a co-signer and so that will be impossible if no co-signer. It would be possible maybe with section 8 apartments.