Press Releases

News from EPI New Family Budget Calculator data show cost of living in every county and metropolitan area in 2024

EPI has updated its widely cited Family Budget Calculator with 2024 data on the cost of living in all counties and metro areas across the country. The Family Budget Calculator estimates community-specific costs—including housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, taxes, and other basic necessities—for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children).

San Francisco tops the list of most expensive metro areas, with a basic budget of $211,473 a year for a two-parent, two-child household. While the median family income is the second highest in the country ($176,676), this still isn’t enough to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.

Rockingham County, North Carolina, is the least expensive metro area in the country, with a basic budget of $79,191 for a two-parent, two-child household. But with a median family income of only $70,961, families still struggle to make ends meet.

The Family Budget Calculator is a stark reminder that many workers in low-wage jobs are not paid enough to meet their family’s basic needs. Even after adjusting for higher state and city minimum wages, there is nowhere in the country where a minimum-wage worker—even a single adult without children—is paid enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget on their wages alone. An accompanying user’s guide explains how policymakers, employers, and advocates can set meaningful living wage standards using the calculator.

“Families are struggling to make ends meet across the country. The Family Budget Calculator allows policymakers to advocate for ways to ease the financial burden on families, including by raising minimum wages, lowering child care and health care costs, and boosting social safety net programs,” said Zane Mokhiber, EPI director of data management and analysis.