How much should Kentucky families earn to cover necessities in 2024? New report weighs in
Are your dollars not stretching as far as they used to? You’re not wrong to think life in the U.S. has grown more expensive over the past few years.
So, how much does your household need to earn to support your family? That question was the anchor of a recent analysis from financial company SmartAsset, which used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator to analyze the basic costs of living required to support varying family structures in each U.S. state.
SmartAsset’s report assessed the minimum costs needed to provide necessities for a dozen common types of families, ranging from a single adult without children to two working parents supporting three children. The analysis used cost data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator to determine the required incomes varying family types in each state need to fund housing, food, medical care, child care services and other basic needs.
Here’s what you should know about the report’s findings for Kentucky and the rest of the U.S.
How much do families need to make in Kentucky?
According to SmartAsset’s analysis, the following minimum incomes are needed to adequately support varying family structures in Kentucky as of February 2024:
- One adult with no children: $40,355
- One adult with one child: $68,129
- One adult with two children: $84,116
- One adult with three children: $108,026
- Two adults (one working) with no children: $56,705
- Two adults (one working) with one child: $56,705
- Two adults (one working) with two children: $77,274
- Two adults (one working) with three children: $81,872
- Two adults (two working) with no children: $56,705
- Two adults (two working) with one child: $77,128
- Two adults (two working) with two children: $95,043
- Two adults (two working) with three children: $107,524
These figures featured through SmartAsset’s analysis reflect the estimated incomes needed to properly provide basics and necessities. A separate SmartAsset analysis also published in February found single working adults in Kentucky need to make approximately $80,704 per year to live comfortably — a status defined in the report as covering basic needs, funding “wants and desires” and supporting savings accounts and paying off outstanding debts.
Locally, MIT’s Living Wage Calculator suggests Fayette County parents raising two children should each make about $23.57 per hour to support the household with a living wage. A single working adult with no children in Fayette County needs roughly $19.23 per hour to make a living wage.
Kentucky’s legal minimum wage is still $7.25, unchanged since it was raised starting in 2009 and identical to the federal minimum wage. Neighboring states like Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia all offer hourly minimum wages of at least $10, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
How does the rest of the country compare?
Across the board, Hawaii and Massachusetts are estimated to be the most expensive states for families in 2024, according to SmartAsset’s analysis. Both required the highest median incomes needed to afford necessities in six of the 12 family structures examined in the report.
SmartAsset suggests Massachusetts families could save significantly if one adult stays home to reduce ever-increasing child care costs in the Bay State. In such a scenario, Massachusetts families could save about $11,000 per child per year by leaving at least one adult home to watch the kids.
Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan and West Virginia offered the lowest required incomes to afford necessities for the 12 family structures examined in SmartAsset’s report. Arkansas appeared as the most affordable state for families with just one child, while Michigan took that honor for families with two or three children. A working adult with no children in West Virginia can afford necessities by making just $39,386 per year — estimated by SmartAsset as the lowest rate in the country.
Through its analysis, SmartAsset found a childless couple needs to make about 30% less than a single adult to adequately cover necessities.
Life in the U.S. has grown more expensive in recent years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Through April 2024, the cost of all consumer goods measured by the agency has grown about 3.4% over the last year, with food prices (2.2%), shelter (5.5%) and energy services (3.6%) observing notable gains. Transportation services (11.2%) saw the largest average jump in cost over the past 12 months.
You can read SmartAsset’s full study by visiting smartasset.com/data-studies/family-minimum-income-state-2024.
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This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 12:58 PM.
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