10 States Where You Need To Make a Lot of Money for Your Family To Live Comfortably

Raising a family is expensive enough as it is, but Americans who live in states with high cost of living must earn at least six figures annually to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.

With the term “living wage” defined as income required to cover 50% necessities, 30% discretionary spending and 20% savings, GOBankingRates used data for a married couple with children sourced from the 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey to survey annual living expenses for a family of four. Itemized costs of living evaluated include housing, groceries and healthcare, as sourced from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2024 Q3 Cost of Living Data Series.

Find out how much money you must make to support a family of four in the 10 costliest states.

• Living wage for a family of four: $258,918
• Annual cost of housing: $66,412
• Annual cost of groceries: $28,290
• Annual cost of healthcare: $9,540

• Living wage for a family of four: $199,671
• Annual cost of housing: $49,600
• Annual cost of groceries: $21,129
• Annual cost of healthcare: $10,033

• Living wage for a family of four: $188,269
• Annual cost of housing: $45,891
• Annual cost of groceries: $19,549
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,213

• Living wage for a family of four: $155,738
• Annual cost of housing: $37,354
• Annual cost of groceries: $15,912
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,607

• Living wage for a family of four: $136,990
• Annual cost of housing: $25,854
• Annual cost of groceries: $11,013
• Annual cost of healthcare: $11,290

• Living wage for a family of four: $135,943
• Annual cost of housing: $29,804
• Annual cost of groceries: $12,696
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,707

• Living wage for a family of four: $134,990
• Annual cost of housing: $30,331
• Annual cost of groceries: $12,920
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,229

• Living wage for a family of four: $131,996
• Annual cost of housing: $29,211
• Annual cost of groceries: $12,444
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,738

• Living wage for a family of four: $131,824
• Annual cost of housing: $28,904
• Annual cost of groceries: $12,313
• Annual cost of healthcare: $8,637

• Living wage for a family of four: $131,102
• Annual cost of housing: $29,848
• Annual cost of groceries: $12,715
• Annual cost of healthcare: $6,918

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed annual living expenses for a family of four in all 50 states, using the 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey (latest available) data for a married couple with children (oldest child 6-17) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The itemized costs of living evaluated were housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare and transportation, collectively termed “necessities.” Based on each state’s respective cost-of-living index for each category, sourced from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2024 Q3 Cost of Living Data Series, the study calculated the annual cost of each necessity and summed them up to find total annual expenditure on necessities. Using the 50-30-20 budget rule, which allocates 50% of income for necessities, the study doubled the total annual expenditure on necessities in order to determine the “living wage” for a family of four in each state. “Living wage” is defined as the income required to be able to cover 50% necessities, 30% discretionary/luxury spending and 20% for savings. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Dec. 11, 2024.