Living Wage Requirements Across the United States: What It Takes for Single Individual

Depending on one’s location, the minimum wage required to support oneself as a solitary laborer can vary significantly.

According to an analysis by the personal finance website GOBankingRates.com, Hawaii has the highest living wage for single employees in the United States at $112,411. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, GOBankingRates calculated the minimum amount a single individual would need to follow the 50/30/20 budget to determine the living wage in each state.

Following this plan, 50% of income is spent on necessities such as accommodation and utilities, 30% is allocated to discretionary expenditure, and 20% is set aside for savings or investments.

The median income for full-time workers who are single in the U.S. is $57,200, so Hawaii’s living wage is more than double what many single people make. Nevertheless, according to GOBankingRates, the living wage in Mississippi is only $45,906.

Here is a look at the five most expensive states for single employees, based on the amount of money they would need to survive each year.

Hawaii: $112,411
Massachusetts: $87,909
California: $80,013
New York: $73,226
Alaska: $71,570

It is not remarkable that Hawaii ranks first because its cost of living is typically among the highest in the country. Because Hawaii is a chain of isolated islands, the majority of shipping occurs by sea rather than by vehicle or rail, which drives up the price of consumer products. Additionally, land for real estate is limited, which has increased property prices.

Similarly, Massachusetts, California, and New York require relatively high living wages, primarily because Boston, Los Angeles, and New York City have some of the nation’s highest housing costs.

In only 30 states does the median income of single employees, $57,200, cover the minimum wage for subsistence.

Financial Sacrifices for Single Individuals to Make Ends Meet

living-wage-requirements-across-the-united-states-what-it-takes-for-single-individual — Depending on one’s location, the minimum wage required to support oneself as a solitary laborer can vary significantly.

Although the study employs the 50/30/20 budget as a guideline for determining a living wage, it is not always an accurate indicator of what people can afford, predominantly due to rising housing costs.

This typically necessitates some form of compromise in order to make ends meet, such as reducing retirement contributions or eradicating other expenses, such as car ownership. Getting a roommate is sometimes the only way for a solitary individual to afford living in a large, expensive city.

While couples can typically find cost reductions by dividing mortgage or rent costs, there is no such discount for singles. As a result, singles spend thousands of dollars more annually on housing than married couples.

Location plays a role as well. Individuals earning approximately $57,200 can live adequately in rural states of the South and Midwest, where the cost of living is significantly reduced.

Again, this is largely due to accommodation expenditures. According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median home price in the South and Midwest is $311,800 and $366,600, respectively, significantly less than the median home price in the United States as a whole, which is $410,200.

The cost of living in each state is presented in alphabetical order.