The Average Hours You Need To Work To Live Comfortably in Every State

Are you earning enough to get by or to get ahead? In other words, can you cover your bills then have money left over to pay for things you want and to save for the future?

If you worked a 40-hour workweek earning the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, you would earn $15,080 a year before taxes and any other payroll deductions. Although that’s above the federal poverty line of $12,490, it’s certainly not enough to live comfortably.

There’s been a push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour to provide workers a living wage. Seven states already have passed legislation that will gradually increase their minimum hourly wage to $15 over the next few years. So let’s say you make that per hour, with a 40-hour workweek your annual pretax income would be $31,200.

That could be enough to get by, considering that the Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that the average consumer annual spending on housing, groceries, utilities, transportation and health care is about $30,000. But if you made $15 per hour and wanted to have enough to pay for anything beyond essentials and to save, you’d have to work more than 40 hours a week.

Of course, how much you’d actually need to work to live comfortably would depend on your wages and the cost of living where you live. To give you an idea of what it would take, GOBankingRates crunched the numbers.

To determine the number of hours you would need to work to live comfortably in each state, GOBankingRates looked at the cost of living in all 50 states using data from the Missouri Economic and Research Center and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cost of living factors included housing, groceries, utilities, transportation and health care. These factors were added up for an annual cost of living, which was doubled to come up with the annual salary needed to live comfortably. That figure is based on the 50/30/20 budget rule, which states that necessities should make up 50% of expenses. The other 30% goes to nonessential items, and 20% goes to savings.

GOBankingRates then divided the salary needed to live comfortably by the state’s median hourly wage to get the total number of hours needed to work to cover expenses, nonessential items and savings. Keep reading to find out whether you have to work 40 hours a week – or more – to make enough to live comfortably in your state. States are listed from the least number of hours needed to work to the most.

Last updated: Nov. 12, 2019

• Median household income: $60,938
• Median hourly wage: $19.34
• Total annual cost of living: $27,811.20
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,622.39

Average hours you need to work in a week: 55.31

• Median household income: $65,699
• Median hourly wage: $20.49
• Total annual cost of living: $29,878.29
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,756.57

Average hours you need to work in a week: 56.08

• Median household income: $52,668
• Median hourly wage: $18.08
• Total annual cost of living: $26,534
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,068

Average hours you need to work in a week: 56.45

• Median household income: $61,229
• Median hourly wage: $19.21
• Total annual cost of living: $28,584.78
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $57,169.55

Average hours you need to work in a week: 57.23

• Median household income: $52,407
• Median hourly wage: $17.96
• Total annual cost of living: $26,956.44
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,912.87

Average hours you need to work in a week: 57.73

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• Median household income: $77,649
• Median hourly wage: $34.46
• Total annual cost of living: $51,902.06
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $103,804.12

Average hours you need to work in a week: 57.93

• Median household income: $61,285
• Median hourly wage: $19.87
• Total annual cost of living: $30,039.12
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $60,078.24

Average hours you need to work in a week: 58.15

• Median household income: $51,542
• Median hourly wage: $17.33
• Total annual cost of living: $26,300.99
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $52,601.99

Average hours you need to work in a week: 58.37

• Median household income: $66,174
• Median hourly wage: $22.17
• Total annual cost of living: $33,882.38
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $67,764.76

Average hours you need to work in a week: 58.78

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• Median household income: $52,977
• Median hourly wage: $17.28
• Total annual cost of living: $26,652.61
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,305.21

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.32

• Median household income: $57,051
• Median hourly wage: $17.84
• Total annual cost of living: $27,543.80
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,087.59

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.38

• Median household income: $56,570
• Median hourly wage: $17.84
• Total annual cost of living: $27,550.53
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,101.05

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.40

• Median household income: $56,675
• Median hourly wage: $17.85
• Total annual cost of living: $27,590.30
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,180.61

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.45

• Median household income: $55,477
• Median hourly wage: $17.28
• Total annual cost of living: $26,737.90
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,475.79

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.51

• Median household income: $52,182
• Median hourly wage: $17.18
• Total annual cost of living: $26,742.87
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,485.74

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.87

• Median household income: $68,766
• Median hourly wage: $19.63
• Total annual cost of living: $30,565.16
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $61,130.32

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.89

• Median household income: $49,767
• Median hourly wage: $16.62
• Total annual cost of living: $25,919.13
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $51,838.26

Average hours you need to work in a week: 59.98

• Median household income: $48,708
• Median hourly wage: $16.78
• Total annual cost of living: $26,226.36
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $52,452.73

Average hours you need to work in a week: 60.11

• Median household income: $46,535
• Median hourly wage: $16.66
• Total annual cost of living: $26,591.91
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $53,183.82

Average hours you need to work in a week: 61.39

• Median household income: $46,472
• Median hourly wage: $16.22
• Total annual cost of living: $25,893.40
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $51,786.81

Average hours you need to work in a week: 61.40

• Median household income: $65,458
• Median hourly wage: $20.34
• Total annual cost of living: $32,506.81
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $65,013.61

Average hours you need to work in a week: 61.47

• Median household income: $63,036
• Median hourly wage: $19.18
• Total annual cost of living: $30,823.82
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $61,647.63

Average hours you need to work in a week: 61.81

• Median household income: $56,951
• Median hourly wage: $18.49
• Total annual cost of living: $29,737.64
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,475.27

Average hours you need to work in a week: 61.86

• Median household income: $56,759
• Median hourly wage: $18.25
• Total annual cost of living: $29,497.12
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $58,994.24

Average hours you need to work in a week: 62.16

• Median household income: $50,320
• Median hourly wage: $17.19
• Total annual cost of living: $27,927.58
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,855.17

Average hours you need to work in a week: 62.49

• Median household income: $43,813
• Median hourly wage: $15.31
• Total annual cost of living: $25,273.77
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $50,547.54

Average hours you need to work in a week: 63.49

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• Median household income: $65,325
• Median hourly wage: $17.69
• Total annual cost of living: $29,233.65
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $58,467.30

Average hours you need to work in a week: 63.56

• Median household income: $44,061
• Median hourly wage: $15.69
• Total annual cost of living: $26,341.21
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $52,682.41

Average hours you need to work in a week: 64.57

• Median household income: $46,718
• Median hourly wage: $16.40
• Total annual cost of living: $27,649.10
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,298.19

Average hours you need to work in a week: 64.84

• Median household income: $71,305
• Median hourly wage: $19.17
• Total annual cost of living: $32,635.98
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $65,271.96

Average hours you need to work in a week: 65.48

• Median household income: $50,985
• Median hourly wage: $16.47
• Total annual cost of living: $28,101.15
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $56,202.30

Average hours you need to work in a week: 65.62

• Median household income: $48,781
• Median hourly wage: $16.23
• Total annual cost of living: $27,938.22
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,876.45

Average hours you need to work in a week: 66.21

• Median household income: $42,009
• Median hourly wage: $14.70
• Total annual cost of living: $25,410.42
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $50,820.83

Average hours you need to work in a week: 66.48

• Median household income: $73,781
• Median hourly wage: $22.56
• Total annual cost of living: $39,146.61
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $78,293.21

Average hours you need to work in a week: 66.74

• Median household income: $46,710
• Median hourly wage: $16.05
• Total annual cost of living: $27,950.30
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $55,900.59

Average hours you need to work in a week: 66.98

• Median household income: $53,510
• Median hourly wage: $17.80
• Total annual cost of living: $31,143.91
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $62,287.81

Average hours you need to work in a week: 67.29

• Median household income: $74,167
• Median hourly wage: $23.40
• Total annual cost of living: $41,713.84
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,427.68

Average hours you need to work in a week: 68.56

• Median household income: $50,883
• Median hourly wage: $16.62
• Total annual cost of living: $29,902.22
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,804.43

Average hours you need to work in a week: 69.20

• Median household income: $76,114
• Median hourly wage: $23.09
• Total annual cost of living: $41,615.90
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $83,231.80

Average hours you need to work in a week: 69.32

• Median household income: $61,043
• Median hourly wage: $20.21
• Total annual cost of living: $36,750.27
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $73,500.54

Average hours you need to work in a week: 69.94

• Median household income: $54,126
• Median hourly wage: $16.08
• Total annual cost of living: $29,818.34
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $59,636.68

Average hours you need to work in a week: 71.32

• Median household income: $76,475
• Median hourly wage: $20.96
• Total annual cost of living: $39,032.86
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $78,065.72

Average hours you need to work in a week: 71.63

• Median household income: $50,801
• Median hourly wage: $16.87
• Total annual cost of living: $31,468.98
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $62,937.96

Average hours you need to work in a week: 71.75

• Median household income: $78,916
• Median hourly wage: $21.49
• Total annual cost of living: $40,916.40
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $81,832.80

Average hours you need to work in a week: 73.23

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• Median household income: $57,808
• Median hourly wage: $19.10
• Total annual cost of living: $36,487.10
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $72,974.20

Average hours you need to work in a week: 73.47

• Median household income: $62,765
• Median hourly wage: $21.63
• Total annual cost of living: $42,828.30
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $85,656.60

Average hours you need to work in a week: 76.16

• Median household income: $53,024
• Median hourly wage: $17.85
• Total annual cost of living: $35,386.83
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $70,773.65

Average hours you need to work in a week: 76.25

• Median household income: $55,434
• Median hourly wage: $17.09
• Total annual cost of living: $33,994.26
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $67,988.53

Average hours you need to work in a week: 76.51

• Median household income: $67,169
• Median hourly wage: $20.40
• Total annual cost of living: $45,003.09
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $90,006.19

Average hours you need to work in a week: 84.85

• Median household income: $56,119
• Median hourly wage: $19.03
• Total annual cost of living: $42,011.24
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $84,022.48

Average hours you need to work in a week: 84.91

• Median household income: $74,923
• Median hourly wage: $20.42
• Total annual cost of living: $64,695.32
• Salary needed to live comfortably: $129,390.64

Average hours you need to work in a week: 121.86

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Methodology: GOBankingRates looked at the cost of living in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to determine the average hours you need to work to live comfortably in each state. First, GOBankingRates sourced cost of living indices for each state in the following categories: grocery, housing, utilities, transportation and healthcare, all sourced from the Missouri Economic and Research Center’s (MERIC) 2019 second quarter cost of living data series.

To determine the total cost of living GOBankingRates looked at the (1) annual cost of food/groceries based on the “food at home” annual expenditure for all consumer units, sourced from the 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey. This cost was then adjusted to each state’s cost of living using MERIC’s grocery index; (2) annual cost of housing, based on the “shelter” annual expenditure for all consumer units, sourced from the 2018 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. This cost was then adjusted to each state’s cost of living using MERIC’s housing index; (3) annual cost of utilities, based on the “utilities, fuels and public services” annual expenditure for all consumer units, sourced from the 2018 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. This cost was then adjusted to each state’s cost of living MERIC’s utilities index; (4) annual cost of healthcare, based on the “healthcare” annual expenditure for all consumer units, sourced from the 2018 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. This cost was then adjusted to each state’s cost of living using MERIC’s healthcare index; (5) annual cost of transportation, based on the “gasoline, other fuels and motor oil” plus “other vehicle expenses” annual expenditures for all consumer units, sourced from the 2018 BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. This cost was then adjusted to each state’s cost of living using MERIC’s index.

Factors one through five were combined to give the (6) total annual cost of living, which was then doubled to give the (7) salary needed to “live comfortably.” This figure was settled on because, according to the 50/30/20 budget rule, an individual’s necessities should make up 50% of their expenses. GOBankingRates determined that one should have double saved up in order to “live comfortably.” Factor seven was then divided by the state’s median hourly wage as sourced from the BLS’ May 2018 state occupational and wage estimates to give the (8) total hours needed to work to earn a “comfortable” salary. Finally, factor eight was divided by 52 to determine the only ranking factor: the (9) average weekly hours required to earn a “comfortable” salary.

Median household income from each state was gathered as supplemental data and sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey. All data was collected and accurate as of Oct. 29, 2019.