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A family of four living in New York state now needs a staggering $276,973 per year to live comfortably, a new study has found.
SmartAsset conducted the study during a period of persistent inflation, examining the expenses related to housing and groceries in each state. They defined “comfort” as the ability to adhere to the “50/30/20 budget rule.”
“This rule suggests allocating 50% of your income to necessities, 30% to discretionary spending, and 20% to long-term goals like retirement savings or paying off debt,” the study’s authors explained.
The average household income in the Empire State currently stands at about $126,000, meaning most families subsist on about half of what is needed to by the SmartAsset definition of comfort.
While New York is certainly pricey for families, it’s the cheapest in the tri-state area, according to the study.
In neighboring New Jersey, a family of four now needs $282,713 to live comfortably.
SmartAsset says the Garden State is one of the areas where costs are rising most rapidly. Just a year ago, a family of four needed $251,181 to live comfortably there, meaning overall costs have surged a whopping 12.55% in the past year alone.
Meanwhile, Connecticut was the costliest in the tri-state area, with a family of four now needing an annual income of $290,368 to be comfortable.
The priciest state for a family of four in the US is currently Massachusetts, per the study, where $313,747 is needed to live by the 50/30/20 budget rule.
Meanwhile, the state with the lowest household income needed for a family of four is Mississippi, where $186,618 is required to live in relative comfort.