It’s no secret that Massachusetts has a high cost of living. But just how high is it?
An analysis by smartasset.com, using the MIT living wage calculator, found that Massachusetts has the highest cost of living of any state in the nation, with the hourly wage necessary for a single adult to “live comfortably” in the Bay State more than a dollar higher than the second-place finisher.
The analysis applied the “50/30/20″ rule, which theorizes a person should spend half their income on necessities like food and housing, 30% on wants, and 20% for paying off debt or building up savings. The MIT wage calculator was used to determine how much it might cost to just pay for needs.
The site found that a single adult in Massachusetts needed to earn at least $116,022 annually to cover basics, wants, and savings. That salary translates to $55.78 per hour.
But, for a family of two working parents with two children, the figure is significantly higher, at about $301,184 to maintain the same level of comfort, according to the site.
The analysis does not differentiate the cost of living in Boston and other cities in the state, though the MIT Living Wage Calculator gives a glimpse into the differences. The calculator found a living wage for a single person is $30.04 per hour in greater Boston, $23.85 per hour in Worcester, and $21.39 per hour in Springfield.
The state with the second highest cost of living was Hawaii, according to the analysis, with a $54.66 hourly wage needed for a single adult, or $294,611 for a pair of working adults with children.
The least expensive? West Virginia, according to the analysis.
There, a single adult needs to earn $37.88 to live comfortably in that state, which translates to a salary of $78,790. The story in West Virginia is slightly different for families, with SmartAsset finding it was the third least expensive state for a family of four, with a salary of $189,364.
Want to see how other states stack up? Read the full analysis.
