According to SmartAsset, which calculated the income a family needs to live comfortably in every US state using the MIT Living Wage Calculator, Massachusetts is the most costly state to live comfortably, and Mississippi is the cheapest.
To live comfortably, a family in the five most expensive states in the union needs an annual salary of more than $270,000.
This graphic, created by Bruno Venditti of Visual Capitalist, shows how much money two working adults and two kids would need to make ends meet in each state.
The term “comfortable” refers to the amount of money required to meet a 50/30/20 budget, which allocates 20% to savings or investments, 30% to discretionary expenditure, and 50% to needs like housing and utilities.
The MIT Living Wage Calculator, which was last updated on February 14, 2024, provided the cost of needs for SmartAsset’s calculations of the required family income in each state.
Massachusetts Tops the List
The most costly state to live comfortably in is Massachusetts, where a family needs to make roughly $301,184 total annually. Second place goes to Hawaii ($294,611), then to Connecticut ($279,885).
One major factor making living in Massachusetts expensive, especially in the Boston region, is housing. The state also has a high cost of living, which includes bills for utilities and healthcare.
| Rank | State | Income for 2 working adults raising 2 children |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $301,184 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $294,611 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $279,885 |
| 4 | New York | $278,970 |
| 5 | California | $276,723 |
| 6 | Colorado | $264,992 |
| 7 | Washington | $257,421 |
| 8 | Oregon | $257,338 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $251,181 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $249,267 |
| 11 | Vermont | $248,352 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $244,774 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $244,109 |
| 14 | Alaska | $242,611 |
| 15 | Maryland | $239,450 |
| 16 | Nevada | $237,286 |
| 17 | Virginia | $235,206 |
| 18 | Illinois | $231,962 |
| 19 | Arizona | $230,630 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $230,464 |
| 21 | Maine | $229,549 |
| 22 | Delaware | $228,966 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $225,056 |
| 24 | Utah | $218,483 |
| 25 | Michigan | $214,490 |
| 26 | Nebraska | $213,075 |
| 27 | Georgia | $212,826 |
| 28 | Montana | $211,411 |
| 28 | Iowa | $211,411 |
| 30 | Idaho | $211,245 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $209,331 |
| 31 | Ohio | $209,331 |
| 33 | Florida | $209,082 |
| 34 | Indiana | $206,003 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $203,923 |
| 36 | Wyoming | $203,424 |
| 37 | Missouri | $202,259 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $202,176 |
| 39 | Texas | $201,344 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $200,762 |
| 41 | Kansas | $196,768 |
| 42 | Tennessee | $195,770 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $194,106 |
| 44 | Alabama | $193,606 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $192,608 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $190,112 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $189,613 |
| 48 | West Virginia | $189,363 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $180,794 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $177,798 |
Mississippi, on the other hand, has the lowest annual cost of living for a family, at $177,798. West Virginia ($189,363) is in second place, behind Arkansas ($180,794). All of these states have low housing costs in common.
Last year, GreatGameIndia reported that per-capita healthcare spending in various OECD countries indicates how expensive US healthcare is, with it being the most expensive in the world.
Support GreatGameIndia
Meanwhile the actual average wage in the US, according to the OECD, is under $80,000. So the average family is nowhere near living comfortably anywhere in the US.