Inflation, High Gas Prices & What the Average Household Earns — An Interesting Study

Doxo is a bill paying platform. The company is — naturally — very interested in income and outgo for families and individuals. It recently did an in-depth study of the cost of living in the United States.

The good news is the cost of living is far below the cost of living in other developed countries. However, living expenses in the U.S. exceed that of most countries on Earth. So it’s a double-edged sword.

The company’s study defines bills and living expenses as rent or house payments, auto loans, auto insurance and driving, utilities, cable, the Internet, smartphones and health insurance. To no one’s surprise, Doxo found states with higher average monthly incomes tend to have higher monthly bills.

Those with lower incomes have lower costs.

Doxo said the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey has the average cost of paying bills in the U.S. as $2,003 a month. The average income of a typical household is about $64,994 a year. Those are averages. Some states are way above and some way, way below.

The most expensive state in the union to live in is Hawaii. The study has the PIA Western Alliance state of California as number-two. The PIA Western Alliance states of Alaska and Washington are in the top 10 at numbers 8 and 9 respectively. The least expensive state is West Virginia.

Here is how the top 10 looks:

1. Hawaii

Average monthly household bills: $2,911

Median household income: $83,173

Average bill total as a share of household income: 42.0%

2. California

Average monthly household bills: $2,649

Median household income: $78,672

Average bill total as a share of household income: 40.4%

Following those two states are:

3. New Jersey

4. Massachusetts

5. Maryland

6. Connecticut

7. New York

The two PIA Western Alliance states in the top-10 are:

8. Alaska

Average monthly household bills: $2,334

Median household income: $77,790

Average bill total as a share of household income: 36.0%

9. Washington

Average monthly household bills: $2,277

Median household income: $77,006

Average bill total as a share of household income: 35.5%

10. New Hampshire

The totals in the other PIA Western Alliance states:

14. Oregon

Average monthly household bills: $2,070

Median household income: $65,667

Average bill total as a share of household income: 37.8%

21. Nevada

Average monthly household bills: $1,945

Median household income: $62,043

Average bill total as a share of household income: 37.6%

23. Arizona

Average monthly household bills: $1,936

Median household income: $61,529

Average bill total as a share of household income: 37.8%

34. Idaho

Average monthly household bills: $1,777

Median household income: $58,915

Average bill total as a share of household income: 36.2%

36. Montana

Average monthly household bills: $1,751

Median household income: $56,539

Average bill total as a share of household income: 37.2%

43. New Mexico

Average monthly household bills: $1,663

Median household income: $51,243

Average bill total as a share of household income: 38.9%

Source link: Norfolk Daily News — https://bit.ly/3OFHM3O