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How Much Money a Family Needs to Live Comfortably in Each State, Ranked

Published April 8, 2025•Updated October 28, 2025

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Portraif Of Cheerful Middle Eastern Family Of Three Having Fun Together At Home. Young Arabic Parents Playing With Their Little Daughter In Living Room, Mom, Dad And Child Smiling And Laughing — Prostock-Studio/istockphoto

It costs far too much to live in this country, and that’s just for one person. When you’re raising a family, those costs shoot up, up, and up. Just how much money do you need to live comfortably in your state, anyway?

SmartAsset put together a report that highlights just how much money a family of two adults would need to make in order to raise two children.

Here is the salary you and your partner would have to pull in to comfortably raise kids in your state.

1. Massachusetts

Provincetown, Massachusetts — Rolf_52/shutterstock

Income needed for a family of four: $301,184

2. Hawaii

A beautiful family consisting of a Pacific Islander couple and their school age children walk on the beach together at sunset in Kauai, Hawaii. — Fly View Productions/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $294,611

3. Connecticut

Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, USA — peeterv/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $279,885

4. New York

Look Forward, Not Backward — monkeybusinessimages/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $278,970

5. California

Family together outdoor — kate_sept2004/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $276,723

6. Colorado

Little girl and her parents enjoying winter vacation on the mountain. — RgStudio/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $264,992

7. Washington

young family spends time together at a Puget Sound beach in Washington state — RyanJLane/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $257,421

8. Oregon

Seaside, OR, USA - Jan 22, 2022: Children play on the beach swings facing the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, Oregon, with parents watching by the side, on a warm winter day. — hapabapa/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $257,338

9. New Jersey

Ocean City New Jersey — Vladone/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $251,181

10. Rhode Island

The Narragansett Towers, Narragansett, Rhode Island — cmart7327/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $249,267

11. Vermont

people riding a bike on the colchester causeway gravel bike path in burlington, vermont (mountain bikes with kid's bike) from behind, unrecognizable (sport, recreation, travel, bike riding, cycling) — Yuriy T/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $248,352

12. Minnesota

Income needed for a family of four: $244,774

13. New Hampshire

Income needed for a family of four: $244,109

14. Alaska

Beautiful turquoise colored glacier fed Portage Lake in Chugach State Park near Whittier, Alaska, USA. — Bkamprath/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $242,611

15. Maryland

Easton, Maryland — Joseph Sohm/shutterstock

Income needed for a family of four: $239,450

16. Nevada

Las Vegas, NV - circa November, 2021: A family walks along Las Vegas Boulevard on a nice day. — Page Light Studios/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $237,286

17. Virginia

Norfolk Virginia Cityscapes, historic district — ferrantraite/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $235,206

18: Illinois

young tourist family enjoying the view downtown Chicago — Page Light Studios/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $231,962

19. Arizona

A family in Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona, USA — kapulya/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $230,630

20. Pennsylvania

New Hope Street, New Hope, Pennsylvania — aimintang / istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $230,464

21. Maine

Mother and daughters walking on the beach on an overcast day. End of summer chilly day, off-season holidays. Mom is in her forties, girls are 6 and 8 year’s old. Horizontal outdoors full length shot with copy space. — martinedoucet/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $229,549

22. Delaware

Lewes, Delaware — John M. Chase/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $228,966

23. Wisconsin

Applefest is a popular Event in Bayfield, Wisconsin and includes a Parade — Jacob Boomsma/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $225,056

24. Utah

A mother and son enjoy a summer ride on a rural Utah road. They are loving the carefree, fresh air of the afternoon sun. Road trip. — RichVintage/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $218,483

25. Michigan

Income needed for a family of four: $214,490

26. Nebraska

North Platte, NE, US-March 1, 2024: Sign at the entrance to the historic Canteen District, a downtown entertainment and restaurant neighborhood. — HABesen/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $213,075

27. Georgia

Weekend Activities at the backyard — ZeynepKaya/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $212,826

28. Montana

Montana ranch family portrait taken on family property in Big Timber, Montana — Ralf Nau/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $211,411

29. Iowa

Des Moines Iowa skyline in USA (United States) — f11photo/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $211,411

31. Idaho

Boise , Idaho downtown — 4kodiak/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $211,245

31. North Carolina

People having fun at the River Park Concert in Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA, on April 29, 2023 — Sencer Seker/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $209,331

32. Ohio

Aerial view of Columbus Ohio — espiegle/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $209,331

33. Florida

Multiracial family enjoying a day at the beach — ferrantraite/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $209,082

34. Indiana

Terre Haute historic downtown. — peeterv/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $206,003

35. New Mexico

Family on hiking trip in beautiful mountains. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Close to of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA — MargaretW/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $203,923

36. Wyoming

Income needed for a family of four: $203,424

37. Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri skyline — Tupungato/shutterstock

Income needed for a family of four: $202,259

38. North Dakota

Income needed for a family of four: $202,176

39. Texas

A Black mother and her daughters have fun traveling around the city of Houston, Texas. They walk around the city, skyscrapers visible in the background, pausing to take pictures of the surroundings and themselves. — RyanJLane/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $201,344

40. South Carolina

People enjoying summer vacation by the ocean. Palm trees on the pathway leading to ocean. Coligny Beach Park, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA — MargaretW/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $200,762

41. Kansas

Traffic in Topeka historic downtown. — peeterv/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $196,768

42. Tennessee

I look at you and I’m home — PeopleImages/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $195,770

43. Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA cityscape in Bricktown at dusk. — Sean Pavone/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $194,106

44. Alabama

Montgomery, USA - April 21, 2018: Family people crossing crosswalk with balloons at riverfront after Walk of Life breast cancer event in capital city — ablokhin/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $193,606

45. South Dakota

Deadwood, South Dakota — peeterv/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $192,608

46. Kentucky

Nicholasville, Kentucky USA. Saturday, July 15th, 2017. Amusement Park riders swinging high on this amusement ride at the 2017 Jessamine County Fair. — Danny Pendleton/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $190,112

47. Louisiana

New Orleans, USA - July 16, 2013: people enter the riverfront Streetcar Line in New Orleans, USA. Revamped after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the New Orleans Streetcar line began electric operation in 1893. — Meinzahn/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $189,613

48. West Virginia

Income needed for a family of four: $189,363

49. Arkansas

Little Rock, AR, USA - June 12, 2015: View of W Markham Street in downtown Little Rock city, Arkinsas — csfotoimages/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $180,794

50. Mississippi

Family exploring the bed of the Mississippi River with their dog on a summer day. It has been a dry summer, and the river is very low. In this image the dad is taking a picture of the — emholk/istockphoto

Income needed for a family of four: $177,798

Meet the Writer

Wilder Shaw

Wilder Shaw is a staff writer at Cheapism who has written for publications like The Washington Post, Thrillist, Time Out, and more, but you most likely recognize him as Trick-or-Treater No. 2 from a 1996 episode of “The Nanny”. Give him a shout on Bluesky and Instagram.