Living wage calculator (s/o soooo many threads)

[Luckymama]

I head about this living wage calculator last night while listening to Marketplace (public radio program)

 

http://livingwage.mit.edu

 

It takes into consideration regional differences, which is a common topic of conversation here. You enter your state and then choose a city/town/whatever. It seemed very specific for my state.

 

From the website:

 

While the minimum wage sets an earnings threshold under which our society is not willing to let families slip, it fails to approximate the basic expenses of families in 2013. Consequently, many working adults must seek public assistance and/or hold multiple jobs in order to afford to feed, cloth, house, and provide medical care for themselves and their families.

 

Establishing a living wage, an approximate income needed to meet a family’s basic needs, would enable the working poor to achieve financial independence while maintaining housing and food security. When coupled with lowered expenses, for childcare and housing in particular, the living wage might also free up resources for savings, investment, and/or for the purchase of capital assets (e.g. provisions for retirement or home purchases) that build wealth and ensure long-term financial security.

 

An analysis of the living wage using updated data from 2013 and compiling geographically specific expenditure data for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, and other basic necessities, finds that:

 

The minimum wage does not provide a living wage for most American families. A typical family of four (two working adults, two children) needs to work more than 3 full-time minimum-wage jobs (a 68-hour work week per working adult) to earn a living wage. Across all family sizes, the living wage exceeds the poverty threshold, often used to identify need. This means that families earning between the poverty threshold ($23,283 for two working adults, two children) and the median living wage ($51,224 for two working adults, two children per year before taxes), may fall short of the income and assistance they require to meet their basic needs.

 

The cost of housing and childcare for families with children exceeds all other expenses. In the United State, a typical family of four (two working adults, two children) spends 21% of their after-tax income on childcare and another 21% on housing. Faced with tradeoffs, a second working adult must earn at least $11,195 on average in order to cover the costs of childcare and other increased expenses when they enter the workforce. Single-parent families need to work almost twice as hard as families with two working adults to earn the living wage. A single-mother with two children earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour needs to work 125 hours per week, more hours than there are in a 5-day week, to earn a living wage.

 

The living wage varies based on the cost of living and taxes where families live. Families of four (with two working adults, two children) in the North ($56,179) and West ($53,505) have higher median living wages before taxes than the South ($49,167), and Midwest ($48,496). Within region, the largest variation is between Southern states, where the living wage ranges from $45,655 in South Carolina to $69,820 in the District of Columbia.

 

In most metropolitan areas, where the US economy and jobs are increasingly concentrated, the living wage is higher than the national median. Consistent with overall regional variation, of the most populous 100 metropolitan areas, Honolulu ($66,554), New York ($67,323), and Washington DC ($69,709) have the highest living wages for the typical family of four.

 

Please note that the data on the remainder of this website reflects values through 2010. Updated calculations for states, metropolitan areas, and counties will be available shortly. In the meantime, please contact amyglas@mit.edu for more information.

[NotSoObvious]

Interesting. We live in Palm Beach County and I was just looking at what I would make if I went back to teaching. I have a masters degree. It would be less than the living wage for 2 adults and 2 kids. Pathetic.

[DawnM]

Yeah.  NC is 48th in the country for paying their teachers.  I worked in CA for all of my teaching and counseling career and the pay was much better.

 

Horrible.

 

Dawn

Interesting. We live in Palm Beach County and I was just looking at what I would make if I went back to teaching. I have a masters degree. It would be less than the living wage for 2 adults and 2 kids. Pathetic.

 

[NotSoObvious]

Yeah. NC is 48th in the country for paying their teachers. I worked in CA for all of my teaching and counseling career and the pay was much better.

 

Horrible.

 

Dawn

Yep, I made more as a first year teacher ten years ago in Los Angeles than I would here now.

[prairiewindmomma]

We use that website a lot, but grocery prices have risen a lot in the last four years. Rent has too, in my particular locale, to cover tax increases, even though home values have declined. I excited to see the updated info!

[Tenaj]

Ha!  Sorry but I find these calculators hilarious and very exaggerated.    I just looked up our state and county.  Of course, it doesn't go up high enough to include everyone in our family.  Highest is 2 adults 3 children (we currently have 4 adults and 6 children living in our house).  I didn't look at it long, because I couldn't get past the food budget that they listed.  According this site, I need $904 a month to feed two adults and 3 children.  Sorry, but that's ridiculous!  I don't spend that much with having twice as many people in my house!  

[Annie G]

I was surprised by the numbers for our county. Our minimum wage is $8 and they claim a living wage for a single person is $7.75.  

 

For a family with two adults and two children, the living wage is just under $20.  But the numbers seem off because there's no child care in there, and I'm wondering if they think one adult will always be with the kids- either not working at all or juggling schedules. Juggling schedules would be a nightmare. 

But the transportation costs seem really high- almost $800 a month.  That seems like a lot even with a small car payment. 

 

 

[Mergath]

I was surprised by the numbers for our county. Our minimum wage is $8 and they claim a living wage for a single person is $7.75.  

 

For a family with two adults and two children, the living wage is just under $20.  But the numbers seem off because there's no child care in there, and I'm wondering if they think one adult will always be with the kids- either not working at all or juggling schedules. Juggling schedules would be a nightmare. 

But the transportation costs seem really high- almost $800 a month.  That seems like a lot even with a small car payment. 

 

I think it said the numbers are for a sole provider, so they probably are assuming one parent will provide childcare.

[peachskittles]

Seems right to me...If my SO went back to his old job, we would be making close to what they list as a living wage for 2 adults and 3 children (we have 5), and it was plenty for our family.  I think $900 a month for food is accurate here for us.  I wish I could cut it down, but no gluten and no legumes kind of kills a budget.  Wish my SO would go back to his old job.  *sigh*  Seeing the numbers is a bit depressing, knowing that we are around poverty wage when last year we weren't even close to that.

[shinyhappypeople]

That's interesting.  We make almost exactly what they list as the living wage for our area.  I don't understand where they get their numbers for some categories.  In our town, it lists "transportation" at $680.  What????  I assume they're factoring in a car payment in there, which is just stupid.  If you make our level of income, you spend your tax return on a reliable (but old) used car and call it good - unless you want to feel poor all year round.  In that case, I don't really feel sorry for you.  Make better choices next time.  (Actually, we did have a car payment once.  The new-to-us car got such good mileage that combining the payment, insurance, and fuel it came out cheaper than continuing DH's LONG commute in our old gas hog SUV.  So, there's that....)

 

The housing cost is close.

 

 

The tax expense is stupid... how are they calculating that?  We pay nowhere near $5,000 in tax.  We also get EITC, and child tax credits, as well as a refund of most of our FICA which yields more than $5,000 tax refund check every year.

 

My conclusion is that they're trying to make people seem poorer and more helpless than they really are.  They're ignoring the extra money received at tax time, and inflating some of the costs (transporation!!).

 

 

 

[Tiramisu]

Looking at the annual figures, I don't think we would make the cut off for a living wage with four kids. But we're living.

 

We can only do it because have a cushion of savings from our previous lives that we dig into for emergencies. We also have never borrowed so we've been spared a problem with debt that has hurt our friends with much higher incomes.

[City Mouse]

I looked up my town and thought the wage information was fairly accurate.

 

The poverty rate for 2 adults 2 kids was $12 and change. Around here a good paying job for someone without a college degree is $10 per hour. There are not very many jobs that require college degrees and pay accordingly. As a group, teachers are actually the highest paid people in our town. There are a few specialized positions for certain professionals, but those are not really jobs that locals have the qualifications for and there is very low turn over in those jobs, so I thought the chart of pay for the different fields was a joke. Most of those career field do not exist in our town. People are either service workers, agricultural, or in education. Rents are pretty low but purchase prices of homes are high. Many families live in long paid off family homes or rent a house/trailer. There is no commercial child care at all. Most people rely on family. If for some weird reason I were to have a baby now, I would have to quit my job or import a nanny. There are very few people that babysit for money because most families can afford to pay very little.

Many families are below the poverty level here. The local school offers free breakfast for all kids. Because so many kids qualify for free lunch, the school was given a grant for free breakfasts.

Food costs are cheeper for families that can drive 40-60 minutes each way to the larger towns, but then transportation costs increase.

[Annie G]

I think it said the numbers are for a sole provider, so they probably are assuming one parent will provide childcare.

You're right- the numbers listed were for a sole provider.

 

I think it's more realistic to expect both parents working if money is that tight.  It seems easier to combine two lower paying jobs to equal a living wage than to have one parent find a job that pays twice minimum wage.  Plus is one person loses a job or hours are cut, there's that second income still coming in.  I know very few people who are really low income who only have one person working (exceptions are for disabled spouses, families who have a very special needs child, etc. )   Even the vast majority of homeschool moms around here work at least part time cleaning offices, tutoring, selling stuff, etc. 

[PeacefulChaos]

I'd say it's pretty spot on for where we live.

 

We're about $4 under the living wage for our family size here.  I'd say that's about right.  We have made a living wage in the past and we are definitely not back to it yet - though we have covered about half the distance back to it since DH's job switch.  (Does that make sense? lol)

 

I'd say the $900 food budget is probably accurate.  By the time I buy everything I need at the store, it is around $175/week.  Plus any trips in between.  Medical is a little high but DH and I don't have insurance - it may be $400/mo if we did.  :ack2: (that's why we DON'T!)  I pay our medical bills monthly, but they still aren't that much.  Our housing is lower than what is listed because we have a good deal on rent - HOWEVER, I'd actually say the price they have listed ($800ish) is low for our area.  An $800 house payment just isn't a thing here unless you want to live in a doublewide or old, rotted out, piece of crap house.  It lists transportation close to $800, too, which may be close.  Insurance is $60 for our one car, when we had a car payment it was $212, and gas is around $60 per week/week and a half.  Plus any maintenance needed on the car itself... Unfortunately we'll probably need to get another car sometime soonish (next year or so) because I just don't think ours will last, and we're afraid to just drive it til it dies with nothing as back up - we'd rather trade it in while we can still get something for it and get it off our hands before everything starts going wrong with it (it's a Chevrolet :ack2: ).  But anyway, that's a whole other thread... :)

 

At the bottom of the page, is that supposed to be the average amount that someone in our area makes in those professions/jobs?  Because it definitely was off for DH's job, if that's the case...

 

 

Seeing how accurate it was here makes me curious as to how accurate it is other places, as something like that can really come in handy if one is wanting to move...;) :D

[DawnM]

And LAUSD provided full health benefits for the entire family!  My babies were 100% covered and I had two C-sections.  I worked there for 17 years.

 

I even went down to 2/3 time for a while and I was told that as long as I was 50% or more, I got full health benefits....no additional cost!

 

 

Yep, I made more as a first year teacher ten years ago in Los Angeles than I would here now.

 

[mommymilkies]

. 

 

[DawnM]

I think the wages were just averages.  I looked at the CA one and it didn't reflect my wages at all, but I also know that they may be including things like preschool teachers, etc...who don't make as much.  The column just said, "education" which encompasses all sorts of things.

 

How does your district pay Elem. teachers less than High School teachers?

 

 

Maybe for some people.  I just actually quit a job I had for less than a week.  We hoped a second income would bridge that gap.  Instead, it increased our tax bracket (lowering our tax return) and would have been just enough (by dollars a year) to cancel our medicaid.  My job was part time minimum wage with zero benefits.  Dh's insurance is $1600/month.  So we would have been paying in over $1600+ a month for me to make about $400 a month.  It doesn't make sense, so I quit.  

 

For the calculator, food prices have increased dramatically here.  I almost cried when I found an old receipt from the store!  Oh, and our medical costs would be 4x that without taking into consideration co-pays and deductible. Transportation seems high, and housing low.  For some reason housing costs here are ridiculous compared to many surrounding areas even with high unemployment and no attractions-just rural corn country with no attractions within hours. The typical hourly wages are FLAT OUT wrong.  I know because I just was in a job search for months.  If you're lucky to travel the 1.5 hours for the nearest big manufacturing plant, you'd make $30/hour.  But most jobs here are minimum wage, and I know for a fact most of those hourly wages are completely wrong.  Dh is a college professor and makes $21.15/hour.  And he gets paid (with over a decade of teaching experience) double what elementary teachers (even experienced) here make but less than the high school teachers (fresh out of school)

 

[NotSoObvious]

And LAUSD provided full health benefits for the entire family! My babies were 100% covered and I had two C-sections. I worked there for 17 years.

 

I even went down to 2/3 time for a while and I was told that as long as I was 50% or more, I got full health benefits....no additional cost!

Absolutely. I was only there for 2 years and then we moved out of state. I had no idea how lucky I was!!!!!

Substitutes here make $13/hour, and only bell to bell hours count. I literally laughed out loud.

 

If I had been in a safer school, we might have stayed. I would love to be back in an inner city school once my kids are grown though. I can't take the suburban schools again.

[mommymilkies]

. 

 

[DawnM]

I know exactly what teachers here make and the salary table is for Elem, Middle, and High School teachers.  They all use the same salary table.

 

What you are saying about your husband's salary is exactly why I didn't pursue my PhD.  I applied and was accepted into a program but after talking to some professor friends and realizing that they made $20K less than I did, I decided not to continue with it.  I got a 2nd MA instead.

 

Dawn

 

 

The different schools have different wages.  My SIL is an el ed teacher, but they recently laid off many teachers and aides, so she can only find work as an aide after subbing for 3 years. She makes $9/hour.  I just looked up the school district updated salary records and it's nearly double what it was when I was in el ed/sp ed classes and shadowing the same school in 2006.  That's awesome!  But the high school teachers still make $20k on average, it looks like.  If you search through your school district information, you should be able to see them near you. 

 

ETA: For a teacher with 3 years of experience at the elem school, it looks to be ~$31k, and for high school $42k for the same degree level and experience. Dh has an advanced degree and over a decade experience and makes far under what public school teachers are making! Wow.  This was definitely a wake up call.

 

[mommymilkies]

. 

 

[DawnM]

Yeah, my heart is in the inner city.  I worked there for almost 20 years in both middle and high schools in LA.  I have read they have done away with year round schools in LA.  I was very surprised to read it.  

 

Apparently so many have left LA and they have been able to build enough new schools that it isn't necessary.  In fact, when I looked at the website recently I was shocked to see so many new high school names listed.  I was quite familiar with most of the names of the high schools in the entire district due to football schedules, conferences with other schools, transferring staff members, etc....

 

I will be going back to work, I am looking at 2 years, although my middle son may need me to HS an additional 2 years, so it may be 4 years.

 

I need to help pay for college somehow!

 

Dawn

 

 

Absolutely. I was only there for 2 years and then we moved out of state. I had no idea how lucky I was!!!!!
Substitutes here make $13/hour, and only bell to bell hours count. I literally laughed out loud.

If I had been in a safer school, we might have stayed. I would love to be back in an inner city school once my kids are grown though. I can't take the suburban schools again.

 

[JustEm]

Ha! Sorry but I find these calculators hilarious and very exaggerated. I just looked up our state and county. Of course, it doesn't go up high enough to include everyone in our family. Highest is 2 adults 3 children (we currently have 4 adults and 6 children living in our house). I didn't look at it long, because I couldn't get past the food budget that they listed. According this site, I need $904 a month to feed two adults and 3 children. Sorry, but that's ridiculous! I don't spend that much with having twice as many people in my house!

Yea we're a family of2 adults and 3 children and come no where near spending 904 a month on groceries, which was the amount listed for my area as well. We eat very well here, grass fed beef, mostly organic veggies, no/low processed foods so I just can't imagine where that 904 figure comes from.

[Carrie12345]

Interesting.  I thought the $904 groceries was a *little high because I've been staying within what I think the range would list for 2 adults/5 kids, but we also do grass fed meats/eggs/some dairy, some organics, few processed foods.  If we went with more mainstream staples, I think I could keep us to $800-ish.

 

Then again, dh and eldest ds don't eat here regularly...

 

My housing is a bit higher than listed (but my housing would be cheaper if we bought today instead of in 2005), my medical is 4 times the listed cost (admittedly by choice,) but my transportation is much lower.

"Other" wouldn't cover my electric bill, let alone phone, clothing, and certainly no internet/paper/ink, so not even the cheapest homeschooling.

 

The total "required" was $3,228 before 2 additional children.  And it's a little difficult to consider my 16yo a "child" with the same needs as my youngest kids.

[SemiSweet]

It's interesting that it lists $904 for groceries everywhere. I know I pay much more for groceries in Honolulu than I did when I was in SC or MS or even CA. $904 would probably cover us if we were being extremely frugal, but I don't think it would be pretty.

[myfunnybunch]

Yea we're a family of2 adults and 3 children and come no where near spending 904 a month on groceries, which was the amount listed for my area as well. We eat very well here, grass fed beef, mostly organic veggies, no/low processed foods so I just can't imagine where that 904 figure comes from.

 

Ditto. We feed 7-8 people on $900/month, and eat a lot of fresh and organic foods and occasional take-out. We could manage decently healthy meals on less if we needed to.

 

I am glad to see, however, that the grocery budget isn't pared down to the kind of budget you'd need to survive on only the most low-cost processed foods. There's a lot of leeway there for fresh food. A "living wage" grocery budget that allows for a decently healthy diet is important.

 

Cat

 

[idnib]

I wonder if "grocery" includes other things typically purchased at the grocery store like toilet paper, cleaners, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.

[myfunnybunch]

I wonder if "grocery" includes other things typically purchased at the grocery store like toilet paper, cleaners, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.

 

Okay, that would make more sense, if it was grocery and household items. :)

 

Cat

[SKL]

These calculators are always inaccurate for individuals because we are all so different.

 

Makes more sense to teach individuals how to budget and figure out what they need.

[myfunnybunch]

I find this surprising.  Does this include all meals every single day? 

 

Three meals a day for 5 of us, two meals for the exchange students. I didn't even think about the fact that the exchange students eat lunch out 5 days/week. (Though some of them take leftovers for lunch, even though we're not supposed to allow it to avoid comparisons between host families.) To be fair, also, our exchange students are young people who sometimes eat out with friends, usually once a week but we're also supposed to have snacks available for them: fruit, cheese, yogurt, etc.

 

The budget does not include some special meals: Thanksgiving, Fourth of July bbq, Christmas dinner. We budget separately for those.

 

Cat

 

[myfunnybunch]

Yeah I think what I spend more week.  It is in line with what it says, but I also buy non food items.  I've never really tried to figure out exactly what only food is costing.

 

We find it easy to separate ours because we buy groceries and household items at separate stores. :)

 

We also buy CSA veggies from a farm, and get meat and preserve fruits and some veg in bulk in season when they're at their least expensive, so I think that makes a huge difference in our grocery budget long-term.

Cat

 

[Jenny in Florida]

I don't understand where they get their numbers for some categories.  In our town, it lists "transportation" at $680.  

 

Our car insurance alone is about half that. I assume the transportation category also includes things like gas and regular maintenance and repairs. 

[SKL]

I agree that the transportation figure is high for my county.  My county has a bus system, and car insurance is also pretty reasonable (assuming you don't have a terrible driving record).  Even when I had a car payment I was paying more like half of the budget they list for transportation.

 

The food budget is high at $150 per kid.  Child care is about right for babies/tots, but that would go away long before your kid started eating $150 per month....

[Annie Laurie]

We spend much more than the $904 listed for groceries for 2 adults and 3 kids, but we have 2 adults and 5 kids. We live in a relatively low cost of living area (TX).

 

ETA: I include household items in my grocery bill though, even pet food. And I have 3 cats and 1 dog. 2 cats are on expensive prescription food. So that makes me feel a little better.

[shinyhappypeople]

Our car insurance alone is about half that. I assume the transportation category also includes things like gas and regular maintenance and repairs. 

 

Holy cow!  I thought California insurance rates were high!  Yikes!

 

My deepest condolences :)

[Jane in NC]

Ha!  Sorry but I find these calculators hilarious and very exaggerated.    I just looked up our state and county.  Of course, it doesn't go up high enough to include everyone in our family.  Highest is 2 adults 3 children (we currently have 4 adults and 6 children living in our house).  I didn't look at it long, because I couldn't get past the food budget that they listed.  According this site, I need $904 a month to feed two adults and 3 children.  Sorry, but that's ridiculous!  I don't spend that much with having twice as many people in my house!  

 

The calculator seems fairly accurate for where I live.  I was able to compare my town to my county--the latter is much less expensive and is reflected in the numbers.

 

Regarding food--my food budget was vastly different when my son was four vs. fourteen.  I am not sure how these calculators accommodate different ages and stages.  Further, my food budget has also been dependent on whether or not I worked outside the home. Not working for pay (as I describe my life as homemaker and community volunteer) allows me to do more from scratch. Granted, some families with both parents working full time can keep costs lower through once a month cooking or the crock pot.  But I don't think that the average person is that organized.  And not everyone can have a garden, etc.

[mamajag]

It's calculators like this that make a laughingstock of the idea of a living wage. No one in my area needs $25 an hour as a baseline to support 2 adults and 3 kids. The expenses listed are inflated and wasteful. There's a difference between a wage that pays the basics of survival (which I support) and these "living wage" sites that think everyone needs a tablet and a smartphone as well as a new car as part of a survival package. Don't even get me started on almost $900 for childcare. Even with 3 small children, it doesn't get that high here. Transportation is unrealistic. If you're talking survival, you're talking an older car that only needs liability. Even with putting away for eventual car problems, $800 is excessive.

 

ETA: "Our tool is designed to provide a minimum estimate of the cost of living for low wage families. The estimates do not reflect a middle class standard of living."

 

That's ridiculous. Their "living wage" is absolutely, firmly in the middle class here.

[Laura Corin]

The living wage for my area and family size would be around £38,902, so USD65,000.  This translates to two adults earning £9.95 each per hour for a standard 37.5 hour week, so USD16 per hour each.  The actual minimum wage is £6.31.  I get exactly the 'living wage' as sole administrator in a small office.

 

ETA: I checked and it includes a sum for alcohol, and 'social and cultural participation' (the latter would include, I would suspect, a TV licence, television, phone, etc.).  So the lifestyle described is not completely basic - more like long-term low income.

 

L

[Laura Corin]

Our car insurance alone is about half that. I assume the transportation category also includes things like gas and regular maintenance and repairs. 

 

Really?  My fully comprehensive car insurance on a 6yo Ford Focus, two middle-aged drivers, is under £200 per year (USD300)!

 

L

[Jane in NC]

Did I miss where the categories were defined?

 

It seems that some people are assuming that taxes means income taxes only.  Homeowners are obviously paying property taxes which are certainly not assumed in the housing costs for my area.  (Renters may not pay property taxes directly but a portion of their rent may be considered a payment toward their landlord's taxes.  I don't know.)

[Jenny in Florida]

Really?  My fully comprehensive car insurance on a 6yo Ford Focus, two middle-aged drivers, is under £200 per year (USD300)!

 

L

 

We have two cars, one five years old and one two, with comprehensive coverage on both. One of them is financed (although purchased used), and so the full coverage is required. We could drop collision and such on the other, but I've had really terrible luck the last few years, and we appreciate the peace of mind.

 

The last incident was a no-fault situation in which I had a tire blow out on the highway, which caused over $3,500 of damage to my car. That tire was one of a pair I bought at the same time, and the other tire was fine. I had no reason to think that one would blow, let alone that it would take the headlight, fender and part of the front bumper with it. Before that, a young driver ran a red light and hit me going through an intersection, about $2,500 of damage that time. I owned the car I had before this one for about two and a half years (an unusually brief time for me, but it simply turned out not to be a practical vehicle for us), during which time I had two significant accidents, one of which was partially my fault, and each of which resulted in several thousand dollars' worth of damage.

 

So, four incidents in six years, only one of which was at all my responsibility. Each time, having good insurance has saved our butts, since we pay a flat deductible and get the car back fully restored. Our insurance rates have not gone up as a result of any of these incidents, but it may be true that we simply live in a high traffic risk area.

[Jenny in Florida]

For what it's worth, the numbers look pretty accurate for our area.

 

Food is a little more than we spend if I make every meal from the grocery store and shop carefully, but probably about right if we include things like when my husband buys lunch at work or we hit an occasional drive through for a snack.

 

I don't remember how much we pay for insurance, because it comes out of my husband's check before I see it. However, I've had two brief hospital stays in the last two years, each of which left us with about $3,000 in bills the insurance didn't cover. If we assume we are paying that off at regular, monthly intervals, that's more than half of the estimated medical amount right there. I also see my doctors regularly, which means a co-pay, and I'm on two prescriptions. All in all, I'd guess $484 might be about right.

 

The housing figure is low for our area. We rent a crummy, small house in a less-than-great neighborhood with no amenities and pay almost $200 per month more than their estimate.

 

I've already discussed transportation, but our insurance on two cars is about half of the listed figure, and we do have a smallish car payment because we needed to replace my husband's car unexpectedly. By the time we add maintenance and repairs and gas for my husband's commute, I suspect that figure is about right.

 

Unless utilities (electricity, phone, gas, water, etc.) are supposed to be included in housing, in which case the listed figure would be low for our area by another $200 or more, I don't see a place in their budget for that. The "other" figure would just about cover our electricity bill on a good month. (And I'm frugal about such things.)

 

So, for our area, the estimates look pretty bare bones, actually.

 

 

 

 

[KRG]

I spend more than the food listed but in my food budget but I include all household items in my food budget.   The medical estimate is a little low and the housing was really low--maybe they used a 1 bedroom apt or something but a rent house or 2 bedroom apt is definitely more than they have listed.  A house would be double and an apartment would be about $100 or so more.  

[KRG]

And all the 2 adult homes do not account for any childcare expenses.  Most families here are dual income so they do have daycare costs.

[Wildiris]

Numbers not so accurate. It would be double the annual income on the calculator to live in my county. Gas and food are much higher, as is housing.

[Jenny in Florida]

By the way, I just looked it up: We have Geico, which is the third least expensive auto insurance available in Florida. The average cost of insuring a vehicle in our part of the state is $1,400 annually.

 

Apparently, we are among the top 10 most expensive states in the country for auto insurance.

[Catwoman]

Just for fun, I compared the numbers for several towns in the same general area. While the calculator thingie gave almost the exact same living wage information for all of the towns, the actual COL in those towns differs dramatically in real life.

 

I won't name the towns, but as an example, Town A is very upscale throughout and nearby Town B is kind of rundown in its best neighborhood and is very low income (housing projects) in some areas. There is absolutely no way it costs the same amount of money to live in Town A as it does in Town B, but the stupid calculator says it does.

 

I originally thought the calculator could be helpful for someone who was thinking of moving to a new area and wanted to compare the COL with other places, but from what I saw of it, I think it's pretty useless.

[SKL]

I agree, our county has everything from very impoverished to very ritzy.  Some of the costs would not vary much, but some would.  I mean, you could buy a house for under $10K in some areas, so the cost of housing could be pretty low if you needed it to be.

[ThisIsTheDay]

 If one has "living wage" skills, one has a greater likelihood of earning a living wage, even if one starts out on the ground floor with a minimum wage job.

[Arcadia]

For my city, it's high on food if no special diet. It is too low for childcare and housing. Rents and property tax have gone back up or higher than pre-recession.

 

My county is big so the county figures are useless.