ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT | COST OF LIVING

How much money does a family need to live?

By SHERYL JEAN
Staff Writer sjean@dallasnews.com

By TOM SETZER
Staff Artist tsetzer@dallasnews.com

The size of a family and where that family lives in Texas or across the country affects the income needed to maintain a secure yet modest living standard, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group. Typically, the larger the family, the larger the budget needed. The nations median budget for two parents and two children is $63,238 a year. EPI calculated the monthly costs, such as housing and health care, for six family types in 615 U.S. areas. The data begs the question: Is the middle class being redefined?

Where are the most and least expensive areas to live in the nation?
A family of four sees the highest cost of living mostly in East and West coast cities. Southern states have the most places with the lowest costs.
Most expensive
1. New York City metro area 2. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., area 3. Westchester County, N.Y., area 4. Washington, D.C., area* 5. Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., area 6. Arlington-Alexandria, Va., area* 7. Hilo, Hawaii, area 8. Boston area 9. Poughkeepsie, N.Y., area 10. Kingston, N.Y., area

Annual income
$93,502 $93,363 $91,120 $88,615 $87,609 $87,387 $87,337 $85,641 $85,477 $85,183

Least expensive
1. Marshall County, Miss. 2. Simpson County, Miss. 3. Rural Mississippi 4. Tunica County, Miss. 5. Hattiesburg, Miss. 6. Tate County, Miss. 7. DeSoto County, Miss.** 8. Pascagoula, Miss., area 9. Iberville Parish, La. 10. Rural Tennessee

Annual income
$48,144 $48,155 $50,671 $50,688 $50,959 $50,959 $51,313 $52,147 $52,353 $52,369

*This is one metro area, but taxes, child care and other monthly costs differ if the family lives in Virginia or Washington, D.C.

**This area of Mississippi is part of the Memphis, Tenn., metro area.

Where are the most and least expensive areas to live in Texas?
The Austin area has the most expensive costs for a family of four out of 37 Texas areas. The least expensive is Texarkana. Health care is the largest monthly cost in all areas. The second-highest cost was child care or housing, depending on the place. The Austin area has the highest monthly housing costs ($1,050) and Lampasas County has the lowest ($642).
Annual average income for a family of four

Abilene area $62,236 Midland area $64,675 El Paso area $59,890

TEXAS

Fort Worth area $64,456 Dallas area $64,704 Texarkana area $56,641 Waco area $60,979

LAMPASAS CO.

Austin area $66,812

Killeen area $61,821

San Antonio area $61,345 Rural Texas $57,928 Laredo area $60,564

Houston area $63,600 Corpus Christi area $63,008

McAllen area $58,663

Why family size matters in the Dallas area

The Dallas area is the second-most expensive place for a family to live in Texas after Austin. It has the states highest monthly health care costs, accounting for 28 percent of all monthly costs.
Dallas area monthly costs One parent, one child One parent, two children One parent, three children Two parents, one child Two parents, two children Two parents, three children Housing $887 $887 $1,183 $887 $887 $1,183 $598 $754 $921 Food $369 $546 $735 $586 Child Health care Transportation care $586 $480 $961 $989 $480 $1,336 $607 $961 $607 $1,336 Other necessities $322 $275 $1,465 $480 $1,465 $1,526 $607 $367 $283 $1,526 $380 $243 $420 $237 $1,587 $539 $346 $491 $431 Taxes Numbers are rounded; annual incomes are in italic $3,907 monthly income $46,880 annual income $4,988 $59,856 $6,183 $74,192 $4,766 $57,193 $5,392 $64,704 $6,519 $78,230

SOURCE: Economic Policy Institute

The bottom line

Even in the best of economic times, many parents in low-wage jobs will not earn enough to meet basic family needs. Annual wages for two full-time minimum-wage workers total $30,160, far below what is necessary for a two-parent, two-child family to live in even the least expensive family budget area. We see people at all income levels. We see people in crisis. The greatest area of difficulty is someone who has replaced a full-time job with another full-time job making 60 percent of their previous income. Its harder to sustain locked-in costs like a mortgage and transportation. Areas with a lower cost of living also tend to have lower-wage jobs, lower household income levels and fewer career opportunities. One complaint about jobs added since the Great Recession is that many are lower-paying, service industry jobs. Later analysis may show what effect that has over time.

Elise Gould, health policy research director, Economic Policy Institute

Todd Mark, vice president of education, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas

Sheryl Jean, staff writer, The Dallas Morning News