Money is tight, the economy sucks, and the stats show it.

We've all complained about inflation lately. I think about it every time I try to checkout at the grocery store. Expenses like rent and necessities are going up and salaries and wages are staying pretty stagnant.

Of course, things get even more expensive if you have kids. That doesn't even include any extracurriculars they do, it's also more humans to take care of. Childcare is also getting pricier: 61% of parents living with at least one kid don't have any formal child-care arrangements. A report by CNBC broke down those numbers and ick, the struggle is real.

Part 1: How Much We're Actually Making

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So the report by CNBC found that the median income for a family of four is $78,171. Iowa's median income is even lower, at $65,600 in 2024, according to World Population Review.

Part 2: What We Need To Be Making

CNBC factored in these to determine our "necessities":

  • Housing
  • Childcare
  • Transportation
  • Healthcare
  • Taxes
  • Other common expenses

As you can probably guess, we're not averaging anywhere close to where we need to be. For Iowa families to live up to that point, the family's income needs to be $105,698. So that's not what we're at. That's about a $40,000 deficit between Iowa's average family salary and what a family of four needs to get by.

Housing and taxes is the bulk of the differences between the averages for the states. The cheapest state to live in is Mississippi, at about $89,000 to live in as a family of four.

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