Of course, this figure may increase or decrease depending on how many rooms you need. The living wage shown is the hourly rate that a person in a household must earn to support themselves and their family. The only supplier is supposed to work full time (2080 hours per year). The tool provides information for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children.
For households with two working adults, all values are per working adult, single or in a family, unless otherwise stated. The state minimum wage is the same for all people, regardless of how many dependents they may have. The data is updated annually, in the first quarter of the new year. State minimum wages are determined based on the published value of the minimum wage as of January 1 of the following year (National Conference of State Legislatures, 201. The poverty rate reflects a person's gross annual income.
We've turned it into an hourly wage for the sake of comparison. Personal finance firm Smart Asset recently released a study on what it takes to live comfortably in America's largest cities, including (of course) Boston. The best way to determine if you can afford to live in a high-cost city like Boston is to create an accurate and detailed budget. This makes Boston one of the most expensive big American cities to live comfortably (see chart below).
It's very likely that if you've lived in Boston for years, you've shared a place with a couple of roommates. What salary is needed to live in the Boston area while maintaining a standard of living can definitely be considered a luxury in these economic times haha. If you're looking for city-style living where you can walk or take a short metro ride, but still live in a reasonably safe area, you're getting very close to the 6 figures to do it without monthly hassle. The Boston metropolitan area, including Cambridge and Quincy, is one of the most expensive places to live in Massachusetts and, in fact, was in the top end of the country, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
You can change the number of adults and children to see exactly what your family needs to earn to live comfortably in your area.
