You Apparently Need Nearly $100K To Live Comfortably In Minnesota

At a family gathering the other day, my mother-in-law commented on the price of groceries. She shook her head and said, "I don't know how families do it these days. Everything is so expensive. I can't imagine raising kids right now." She has a valid point. I don't know how we do it either, but we've raised two kids through the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and record-high inflation.

Like many couples starting out, we were paycheck to paycheck for years, even though we were considered middle class. But what even is middle class anymore? What kind of salary do you have to make to live comfortably? What does living comfortably even mean?

SmartAsset broke down what living comfortably means, and what you need to make in each state. I was shocked because you pretty much have to make over 6 figures to live "comfortably" by their standards.

What Is Living Comfortably?

SmartAsset says that to live comfortably, you need to follow the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. That means 50% of your income goes to necessities like housing, food, clothing, and utilities. 30% of your income can be budgeted for discretionary spending, and 20% goes to savings and retirement.

That seems like it would be pretty comfortable! 30% on discretionary spending and another 20% for savings. That's way more free money and retirement money than our budget allows. Gulp. Maybe we're not living so comfortably after all?

Single Person Without Kids Needs Nearly 6 Figures

In Minnesota, to live comfortably as a single person, you need to make $96,970. In Wisconsin, it's $91,021.

Hold on a second. That's nearly $100,000 for a single person? That doesn't match with what incomes are. The median single-person income in Minnesota is $44,934. That's less than half of what it takes to live comfortably if you go by SmartAsset's numbers.

Family of Four Needs to Make Over $200,000

Having a family isn't cheap. In 40 of the 50 states, you need more than $200,000 to live comfortably with a family of four, according to SmartAsset. I don't know about you, but we've been getting by on far less than that.

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4-5% Increase From Last Year

The amount of money needed has risen 4-5% since last year, depending on exactly where you live. Only in a few states did the cost of living decrease, like in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Maryland.