How much does it cost to raise a family? It all depends on where you live.
The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive, nonprofit think tank, on Tuesday updated its “family budget calculator,” which shows what’s required for families to attain an adequate — if modest — standard of living in communities across the U.S. The calculator contains data on the cost of living for 10 family types in all 3,142 counties (and county equivalents) and in all 611 metro areas.
The calculator takes into account geographic differences and other factors, including housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, plus other basic necessities. It now includes local-level food and transportation costs, where only state or national data were previously available, the EPI said. It does not include expenses like student loans or saving for college or retirement.
A $58,906 per year budget for a two-parent, two-child household makes Brownsville, Texas, the least expensive metro area in the country. Highlighting just how difficult it is for most American families to make ends meet, the national median family income is only $38,203 per year — making even that city less than affordable overall for the average American family.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, San Francisco was the No. 1 most expensive metro area, with a basic budget of $148,439 per year for a two-parent, two-child household. However, the median family income there is $108,822 per year. What’s more, San Francisco has continued to be more competitive with a shrinking inventory of homes on the market there.
“Even in less expensive areas, many families will struggle to meet their basic needs,” said Zane Mokhiber, a research assistant at the EPI. “The good news is we have many different ways to remedy this, from a higher minimum wage to ambitious child care reform.” The EPI hopes the calculator will spur policy makers to advocate for higher wages.
The bottom line: It’s hard for families to stay afloat financially wherever they live in the country. “Even after adjusting for higher state and city minimum wages, there is nowhere in the country where a minimum-wage worker — even a single adult without children — earns enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget,” the report found.