Anyone else see this article from a few weeks ago? Basically, on average, in the biggest 100 cities in the United States a family of 4 requires a household income of around $235k for 2 working adults and 2 children to live comfortably - Salary Needed to Live Comfortably – 2024 Study | SmartAsset
The latest FED data I can find shows a median family income of $93k for a family in 2022 - Median Family Income in the United States (MEFAINUSA646N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org)
Now that $235k probably includes 2 in daycare, college savings put away for kids, a vacation or 2 a year, retirement savings for the parents, 2 car payments, student debt and buying a home in the last couple years with an inflated price and high interest rate but jeez, even cutting as much out of the budget as possible, how are families supposed to make it? $235k is 2 jobs at $117.5k each and other than in the VHCOL of living areas (which often require $300k+ family income in the article) jobs like that are not real easy to come by much less two of them.
I come from a POV of being in that family of 4 and last year we grossed a little over $200k combined in a MCOL area and we are comfortable but we also have owned a home for 10 years, only 1 in daycare, no car payments for 4 years, etc.
Besides people just drowning in debt to survive if they make less than say $150k combined for a family of 4, what am I missing here?
The latest FED data I can find shows a median family income of $93k for a family in 2022 - Median Family Income in the United States (MEFAINUSA646N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org)
Now that $235k probably includes 2 in daycare, college savings put away for kids, a vacation or 2 a year, retirement savings for the parents, 2 car payments, student debt and buying a home in the last couple years with an inflated price and high interest rate but jeez, even cutting as much out of the budget as possible, how are families supposed to make it? $235k is 2 jobs at $117.5k each and other than in the VHCOL of living areas (which often require $300k+ family income in the article) jobs like that are not real easy to come by much less two of them.
I come from a POV of being in that family of 4 and last year we grossed a little over $200k combined in a MCOL area and we are comfortable but we also have owned a home for 10 years, only 1 in daycare, no car payments for 4 years, etc.
Besides people just drowning in debt to survive if they make less than say $150k combined for a family of 4, what am I missing here?